The Storm that Will Free the World
by dragonfire1237
Summary: A girl sets out to right the wrongs that her ancestors committed hundreds of years ago. After being hit by a storm and crash landing on the Moby Dick she finds friendship, acceptance, and a reason to keep on fighting.
1. The Storm that Rages

The Storm that Rages

"Seems like The Storm has struck again, Pops." Marco stated holding up an article that had just been dropped off by the News Coo. It was just one of another many reports talking about the mysterious fighter known simply as The Storm. She had made her debut a little over a half a year ago by destroying a major auction house in Oniji, an island in the New World.

"Gurarara, what did she do this time?" Thundered Whitebeard as he sat in his chair on top of the Moby Dick.

"It seems that she destroyed another auction house, and all the slavers that worked there yoi. The island wasn't in our territory but it was close. Too close, the nobles are getting pretty daring."

"Gurarara, cheeky brats. Did they get a picture of her this time?" Marco held out another piece of paper with a picture of a medium sized woman with frizzy brown hair and a slightly curvy body standing in the middle of a burning auction house. The shot was taken at dusk so her profile was back lit by the flames yet to be extinguished. At her feet, barely visible in the picture, lay dead nobles. In her hand she was holding a slave collar, with one end shattered. The most striking thing about her though, was the fact that she was wearing a mask. It was bright purple with yellow tribal styled lines decorating it in lightning bolt patterns. The only part of her face that was visible was her eyes. They weren't a striking color, in fact they were a calm, peaceful chestnut brown that seemed to look at the photographer with a cold indifference.

"We might meet her along the way, I believe the only other auction houses lie in Kaido's territory now. She'll have to cross over our territory if she wants to get there." Marco replied thoughtfully staring at the wanted poster. Her bounty of 75,000,000 berries wasn't too bad of a start, especially for someone who started in the New World only a year ago.

"They say she uses lightning attacks. I thought there was already a lightning user, somewhere in Skypea right?" Another voice spoke up from right next to Marco causing him to jump slightly. Not that he would ever admit that he had, especially not to Ace, who stood next to him looking thoughtfully down at the wanted poster.

"Could be a different type that seems like lightening yoi."

"Hmm, well whatever. I wouldn't worry too much about it. She seems to only go after Slave houses, if anything I'm cheering her on. Now Marco if I were you I would stop worrying about a girl you never met and worry at what Thatch is doing in your room right now." Ace smirked up at Marco.

"What!? Damn it Thatch!" Marco stormed off deck running towards his room to stop anything happening to his possessions.

"Gurarararara!"

_Somewhere in Whitebeards territory in the New World._

A woman sat on a bar stool sipping a drink from a slightly-more-dirty-than-she-would've-liked glass. Gazing off into space not really paying too much attention to the goings on around her.

Her brown hair hung at a medium length down her back with what looked like a bad case of static shock. She took another sip of her drink contemplating where she was going to go next.

"Excuse me , can you tell me what's the best way to reach Kaido's territory from here?" She finally looked up focusing on the bored looking bartender who was also staring off into space. He started a little at her question and glanced over in her direction.

"Hmmm that's tricky miss. You could go a lot of ways, the fastest is to go the Nor'eastern route which is filled with dangerous uninhabited islands. Or you could catch a ride on the caravans that circle around Whitebeards territory buying and selling supplies at different islands. It's much slower, but it's the safest route to go. Last you could go straight through the middle. That route's got both the good and the bad. It depends on how strong you are. You should be careful though, Kaido's territory isn't anything like Whitebeards. I heard it's a fight for survival every day." He spoke while cleaning the inside of a glass that had by now looked much cleaner than the one she was drinking from.

"Thank you, your help is very much appreciated. Do you know where I can find a map of these routes?" She asked politely sipping from her drink again.

"Yep, if you go down the street here you'll see a map makers place. Make sure you get the more detailed maps or you'll be in a world of hurt."

"Thank you once again, sir." The girl stood up and bowed a little to the man behind the counter, leaving him so flustered at being called sir that he didn't realize until the girl was out the door that she hadn't paid.

Ace looked up at the clouds as he hurried across the deck to help the crew members pull in the sails. Almost an hour ago the navigators had given them warning that a storm was brewing, and it looked to be a large one. The Whitebeard crew was currently battening down the hatches and making sure nothing would roll off the ship.

The crew was almost done with the last sail when they saw the front of the storm heading their way. The cloud cover was massive rolling across the sky dumping rain in a curtain that blocked out everything behind it.

"Fruit users below!" Came the shout and a mad dash of people were seen running to the door to get below deck. Ace swiftly leapt to the deck, landing in a crouch, before he sprinted towards the door. He barely made it before the wall of rain hit the ship.

It was about an hour into the storm. An hour of never ending noise, from both crew and storm when a loud boom, bigger than any of the other sounds on deck, rang out right over the crews heads. Instantly utter silence pervaded the mess hall where the crew not on duty sat waiting. After a momentary pause there was a mad dash towards the exit. The storm was still raging strong, giant waves crashing down onto the deck making it perilous for anyone who decided to venture onto the deck. Ace was pushed up to the front of the crowd and then unceremoniously shoved out into the open, along with Namor who quickly grabbed Ace so he wouldn't slip on the soaked deck. At least his crewmates wanted to make sure he was safe.

"Namor, make sure he comes back and tells us what's going on!" Thatch shouted over the storm, as cheery as ever, not worried in the slightest about his safety. Namor's annoyed response was indecipherable.

He and Namor grabbed onto one of the safety lines that ran throughout the ship ensuring the wellbeing of the crew in storms just like this one. It took them a few minutes of battling waves and a rocking ship to reach the spot of the crash, which turned out to be Pop's room. A small crowd had gathered around the giant man to make sure he was alright, they were swaying and lurching on their feet but determined to protect their father. Ace and Namor reached him just as Whitebeard stood up cradling something to his chest with one massive hand.

"Get back to work brats, we're still in the middle of a storm. Vista, help your brothers and sister through the storm while I'm away!" Whitebeards voice boomed over the caterwauling of the storm. He stood up and started to stride through the lashing rain and wild rocking with ease. Ace and Namor reached Whitebeards side trying to see what was in his hands as they began to slowly make their way below deck, they clung to Whitebeards clothing as their new safety line. Ace saw what looked like a foot, which was all he was able to see by the time they reached the door. Ace leapt forward throwing it open, startling the few crewmembers who had waited. They shuffled out of the way letting Whitebeard duck into the hallway behind, followed shortly by Namor and Ace, who closed the door tightly.

"Pops, what happened?!" Came the cry of the members still in the hallway, the mob being headed by Thatch.

"It seems we have a visitor." He stooped down even lower, revealing the form of a barely conscious young woman who was white as a sheet, cradling her arm against her chest. Her clothes were plastered to her skin and she was shivering.

"We need to get her to the medical bay. Where did she come from?"

"She fell from the sky. It was quite a surprise, Gurarara." Whitebeard straightened up and began to stride down the hall towards the sick bay.

The first sensation she felt when she woke up was pain. A great deal of it at that. Her body ached, her cuts stung, and her arm hurt like the son of a whore-mongering fishwife. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, taking forever to adjust to the light flooding into the room. She was in a medical bay. When had she gotten there? She couldn't remember much after nearly drowning in the sudden storm that had swept her in its wake. The rain had been so heavy that she had lost control of her power, plummeting from the sky with no hope of surviving. Then she had hit something. Hard. After that things got a little hazy, just mainly muffled voices and bright lights.

She look to her left only to nearly jump out of her skin when she looked into the eyes of a man she hadn't even realized was in the room with her. His bright blue eyes gazed lazily right back into her shocked brown ones.

"You're awake yoi." He stated simply.

"It would appear so. Where am I?" Her calm cultured voice answered back not betraying the nervousness she felt in this mans presence. The man looked at her questioningly, most likely shocked that her voice was so smooth and cultured since she looked anything but at the moment.

"You're in the medical bay of the Moby Dick. You fell into my captains roof last night." His slight accusation could be heard through a tightening in his voice and a slight hardening of his eyes as he stared at her. She winced slightly before mulling the name Moby Dick over in her head, it sounded so familiar, but she just couldn't place it...

"What is the name of your captain?" She finally asked, ignoring his attempt to harass her. He smirked at her with an eerie look on his face.

"Whitebeard." Her entire face lost color and her eyes bulged in surprise, but as soon as it was there her face returned to neutral.

"How surprising. I thank you for saving me, I thought I would be dead for sure."

"What were you doing? Why did you fall from the sky?" The sleepy look still in his eyes but now lit up with curiosity.

"Errr. AH! How rude of me, I didn't introduce myself, oh my, how embarrassing. My name is Kepi Meriwether. I'm in your care." She nodded her head to the man, effectively cutting off his question and directing the conversation to something safer, while lifting herself into a sitting position. Marco just lifted an eyebrow at her attempt to change the subject. He snorted, rolling his eyes but followed along with her subject change.

"My name is Marco yoi. Are you able to stand? Pops wants to talk with you" He asked. Gulping she was just about to reply a man came bursting through the door causing her to nearly jump out of her skin in fright. The middle-aged man who had interrupted their conversation had brown hair styled similar to a gangsters, with a crescent shaped scar by his left eye and a goatee.

"Hide me." He spoke in a serious voice, leveling his gaze on Marco.

"What did you do now?" Marco asked with a small sigh, obviously used to this.

"Weeeeellllll, you see Ace fell asleep," the man began (another snort from Marco), "And as a big brother slash pro-prankster, I couldn't let such a perfect opportunity go to waste. So I might have glued his boots to the deck? Just a little?"

"Are you asking or telling me? Besides you can't _just a little _glue someone's shoes to the ground yoi." Marco spoke as the man began to frantically search around the room looking for a place to hide. The man just laughed, before giving a very unmanly squeak and diving behind her cot. Just as he got into place the door slammed open yet again. This time a young man ran into the room breathing heavily. His freckles stood out starkly against his skin (the large amount of it that was showing) With his freckles Kepi would have thought he would look boyish; with the glare he was wearing he looked anything but. He only had a pair of shorts on, with no shirt, and an orange hat that rested against his back. His grey gaze swept over her briefly before moving onto Marco. She shivered slightly, that gaze was deadly, and he wasn't even glaring at her.

"Where is he?!" His deep voice only held annoyance.

"Where's who?" Came the innocent reply from Marco.

"Thatch, I know he's in here! That basta... err," he glanced her way, "idiot glued my shoes to the ground while I slept. I liked those boots! Oi, Thatch! you owe me a new pair of boots!" She blinked, surprised at his attempt at manners. Ace looked at Kepi again.

"Have you seen Thatch?" He spoke looking her straight in the eyes. Not even missing a beat she replied.

"Thatch? I haven't been awake that long, what does he look like?"

"He's about this tall, has a piece of bread stuck to his head that he calls hair, and has a tendency to pull pranks." He said waving his hand a little bit higher than his head. She pondered the question for a moment.

"Hmmm, I don't believe I have seen such a man? I just woke up, I'm sorry that I could not help you." She said, her face completely serious and devoid of any tell. The man just growled before turning around and running into the hall looking both ways before taking off in one direction. A few moments later she heard a chuckle from behind the bed followed by the man stepping out from behind the cot. He looked down at her with amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Thanks, I appreciate it there Sparks! Now I just have to find another hiding spot."

"You owe me for this Thatch, no pranks for the rest of the week!" Marco called to the man, who grunted, before he started humming contemplatively looking both ways down the hall before taking off.

"My, that was… Interesting?" She spoke up looking at the door where the whirlwind of people had come and left in a moment. Marco chuckled.

"Are you asking or telling me?" She looked at him and cracked a smile.

She stood in front of the strongest man alive. To say she was intimidated would be an understatement. This man was huge in both body and presence. And all he was doing was sitting on a chair drinking sake even the different IV's that he was hooked up to didn't deter from it. Who in their right mind try and get this man to actually fight them must be insane. Just as the thought crossed her mind the old man looked down at her, causing her to shift her feet slightly in discomfort, trying to squash the thought of running.

"What's your name brat?" He spoke looking at me and taking a swig from the sake bottle. I nervously ran my hand through my staticy hair trying to tame it back.

"My name is Kepi Meriwether. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am terribly sorry about destroying your roof, I assure you I didn't mean to. I, er, got caught in the storm, it struck suddenly and I was ill prepared for it. I don't have much money but what I have is yours to use for recompensation." She bowed slightly to the man when introducing herself. She adjusted the sling her arm rested in trying to find a more comfortable spot as she straightened back up. She was standing in front of Whitebeard with a few interested crewmates that stood around in a circle, effectively cutting off any route of escape, not that she would even if she could.

"Gurarara! We don't need your money brat. I was just thinking about getting the roof remodeled anyways." She cocked an eyebrow at that.

"Anyways, didn't you see the storm coming girl, it stewed for a good while before going wild. What boat where you on girl, we'll drop you off there."

"Err, I wasn't on a boat sir."

"Oh? Devil fruit user then?" She nodded her head at that.

"Well then it's a good thing you landed here now isn't. Gurararara." His laugh could shake the heavens from its seat.

"Yes, quite," she paused slightly looking nervous running her hand through her hair again before coming to a decision. "Sir, if it isn't too much to ask, may I stay on this ship until you next reach an inhabited island. I am not able to fly at the moment." The man studied her for a moment. Taking a sip of his sake, " do you want to fight me brat?"

She looked at him horrified before exclaiming, "Are you _insane_?! No one in their right minds would attack you, and I happen to _be _in my right mind, even if it got knocked around a little." She breathed heavily for a moment before coming to the realization that she had just insulted the World's Strongest Man. Gulping she looked up quickly, ready to apologize when the stunned silence that had followed her exclamation was broken by large peals of laughter.

"Gurarara, you can stay brat, try not to get into too much trouble." He looked away from her taking another sip from his sake bottle. She nodded in assent and thanks before quickly backing away from the man and turning to walk swiftly (she did not run) to go below deck.

"Thatch, go show her to a room." Whitebeard looked down at the prankster.

"Sure thing Pops. Hey, wait up Sparks!" Thatch trotted off after Kepi waving his hand enthusiastically over his head.

"I think you intimidate her, she looked about ready to wet herself. Or cry." Marco commented.

"Gurarara, just means she'll at least be able to get along with the crew while she stays here. From her reaction I can tell she's not a part of the Marines, though there is something she's hiding."

"Ah, well I was just getting to that, I looked through the bag she carried with her and found something interesting."

"Oh?"

"A mask. A bright purple and yellow mask. It was tucked away in a secret pouch sewn into her bag, I almost didn't come across it." Holding up a wanted poster he continued, "It seems we're entertaining none other than The Storm."

"Gurarara! This should be interesting!"

"So Sparks, you'll be staying in our lovely spare bedroom we use only for guests!" Thatch spoke catching up to Kepi.

"Oh, thank you for escorting me. Why do you call me Sparks?" She asked tilting her head slightly in puzzlement.

"Heh, well when we brought you to the infirmary I had to take you to one of the cots, since Pop's too big to fit through the door, and as soon as I touched you it felt like I was getting zapped by lightening, hence Sparks. Besides I think it's cute!" Thatch replied cheerfully, reaching over and mussing her hair. She stopped walking and looked at him with a shocked expression. He just kept walking, calling out over his shoulder, "are you coming or not?"

She simply shook her head finger combing her hair back into place and picked up her pace to catch up to the crazy, flamboyant man leading her.

It took a few minutes, many confusing turns, Thatch stopping and talking to random crew members, and many asinine comments to reach their destination.

"I'm warning you now, we don't get a lot of visitors so we don't really have any of the visitor rooms cleaned out. It might be a _little _dusty since no one likes to clean them." He said swinging one of the doors open wildly so that it banged on the wall, this was followed quickly by a cloud of dust that spread through the room.

"Err, in fact I don't think I remember the last time we had a guest stay over night. No worries, I'll just rope some crew members into cleaning it out, until then we should go to the mess hall for a bite to eat!" Coughing and waving her hand in front of her face she nodded quickly getting away from the doorway.

Kepi began to hear the sound of voices from aways down the hall. The sound grew steadily louder until it was a dull roar and by the time they reached a large doorway. Before they could enter the room the doors swung open spitting out a couple of crew members that looked like they were about to start brawling right then and there. Kepi had to jump back, getting out of their way as they barreled down the hallway to engrossed in whatever argument they were having to even glance their way.

Thatch pushed open the door holding it for her to enter the room. Her ears and eyes were assaulted by the room which was filled to the brim with moving, heaving bodies. Few were actually just eating, most of the occupant had some combination of eating, fighting, talking, singing, laughing, or some other rambunctious activity.

"Are things always this... lively, around here?" She called over to Thatch as he directed her over to the food line.

"Yep!" He called back cheerfully handing her a tray, "You get used to it after awhile!" He shouted while skillfully dodging a chunk of indefinable material as it passed by. They reached the top of the line and started to dish themselves. She was forced to set her tray on the lip that jutted partway out of the wall since she only had one arm. Just as she reached the end of the line, ready to ladle what looked like peaches, one of her favorite foods, onto her plate, she noticed the previously free slot was now filled with what looked like peas. She hated peas. She followed the ladle up to the arm and finally to the person who had scooped for her.

"You should eat your greens!" Came Thatch's cheery answer to her unspoken question, she grimaced in response but kept them on her plate; it wasn't like she was going to eat them anyways. She sighed putting the peaches she was going to get back down. Another day she thought gazing longingly at them. The next obstacle was finding a table to sit at. She looked over to Thatch, who was scanning the room. He paused in his search and smiled broadly before motioning for her to follow. Making it to the other side of the room was an exercise in itself. She had to dodge around people while keeping her tray precariously balanced. After the third time of nearly dumping the contents of her tray onto some unlucky bystander Thatch took pity on her and grabbed her tray. She gave him a grateful smile.

"Thatch! Over here!" Came a deep voice from the next table over. Kepi did a double take when she realized that the voice was coming from a woman. A very pretty woman who wasn't actually a woman. So surprised was she that she nearly tripped over a prone body lying on the floor because she was staring at the man, luckily she saw the obstacle and jumped at the last moment though her balance was off because of her broken arm. They reached the seats where Thatch squeezed into a seat next to the Not Woman. She looked around to see if anything was available but found nothing. She gave a confused glance to Thatch who just smirked before he rammed into the guys on his right, squishing them together and pushing them down the bench until the man at the end fell off. The men's protest was very loud like she thought it would be, they mainly just glowered at Thatch with vengeance in their eyes. She covered her mouth to stifle her laugh looking at the now available spot between Thatch and the Not Woman. Quickly sitting down in the available spot she looked at Thatch.

"Thank you for finding me a seat." She said in as innocent and bright a voice as she could muster.

"My pleasure. This is Izo by the way, he's the 16th division commander." He smirked back at her with a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. She turned to the Not Woman, Izo, and smiled politely at him.

"Hello, my name is Kepi Meriwether. How do you do?"

"Ha! You're a cute little thing aren't you. You're also civilized, don't see much of that here." That last comment was directed at Thatch, who was currently trying to hold off the rest of the bench from squishing him into her. She smiled politely.

"Thank you. If my speech is a little stiff I apologize. It _is_ much better now than it was before."

"Oh? Well, if you want to learn to speak like an uncultured brute then look no further than the man sitting next to you. You'll be cussing like a sailor in no time!" He said pointing at Thatch who was now a few feet away from her on the bench in the process of pushing everyone else off the bench while snatching up food from different unprotected trays in the process.

"I'll keep that in mind." She spoke looking speculatively at Thatch. She shrugged before she turned and began eating her food, avoiding the peas of course. By the time she was finished, Thatch had pushed everyone off the bench and was now receiving money from some of the crewmembers that had been sitting around watching. He walked back over to her with a victorious grin on his face but stopped and frowned when he looked down at her tray.

"You didn't finish." He said accusingly staring down at the peas left in the farthest corner of her plate.

"I do not like eating _peas._" Was her vehement reply.

"We don't waste food here. It hurts the cooks feelings." She grimaced when he looked at her mournfully. Grumbling slightly she scooped up a portion of her peas, staring at them for a moment in what looked like a battle for supremacy between woman and peas. Eventually the peas won and she took a bite swiftly swallowing them with as little chewing as possible. As if a dam had broken she shoveled the rest of the peas into her mouth as quickly as possible before reaching over to Thatch's plate and snagging a peach that had sat unprotected and uneaten.

"Hey!" Came his indignant reply. She simply looked at him with flat eyes that told him it was his fault anyways, so he could just suck it up. Izo just chuckled when he saw this.

"So I heard you have a devil fruit power. What is it?" Izo commented as he watched Kepi snag the rest of Thatch's peaches.

"Hmm, it's a zoan, Tori Tori no Mi." She commented wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"Ohh, what model?" Izo leaned in closer and what looked like the rest of the table who had finally sat back down.

"Err, Crane I think." She said looking down at her plate.

"It must be really pretty, you'll have to show us when you heal!" Izo practically squealed before standing up with his empty tray.

"I think you'll fit in just fine. Good luck Little Spark." He left before she could form a reply. Out of the corner of her eye she saw some of the crewmembers from other tables looking at her. She tensed thinking that they might harm her, since devil fruits users were often ostracized. Then she noticed some were groaning while others were smirking triumphantly waving around a couple of Bellies. She looked questioningly at Thatch who sat eating the rest of his meal. Noticing her glance he looked up then followed her gaze to the crewmembers.

"Oh them, they were just betting on whether you would eat the peas or not. It seems that most of them didn't think you would eat it. Knew I should have bet." She just blinked in reply before laughing a small laugh and relaxing. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad here, just as long as no one found out about _that. _

Marco sat in his room looking at the new news paper. The large caption on front read _Tenryuubito Sophia Grandioles still missing after a year! _

Kepi - Tempest

Meriwether - Happy Weather

Thought it was kinda funny. Anyone wanna guess at what model she actually has? If you notice she usually says Err when she's lying or nervous. Or both. How do you like it? Comments appreciated, this is mainly a dabble but I'll continue if I get enough comments.


	2. The Storm that Begins

_"Our lives are defined by the gifts we leave our children."_

_\- Atlantis_

* * *

The Storm that Begins

_"Listen! The people of this world will never taste freedom! Not when slavery still exists! You will never be free, not until everyone is. Don't waste the life you've been given, don't become like your ancestors, find a way to free yourself!"_

Kepi woke up to complete darkness with a gasp, sitting up straight in bed. She sat breathing heavily for a moment then she lay back with a sigh.

"I'm finding my freedom old man. Just you wait." She whispered silently before slipping into sleep once more to the gentle rocking of the ship.

She woke again to see sunlight streaming through her port hole. She also felt a great deal of pain all over her body. Her bruises, bumps, and cuts were all sore and her arm throbbed painfully.

"Painkillers." She mumbled as she climbed slowly out of her bed.

Last night after dinner Thatch had taken her on a tour of the ship, well only the first three layers. He said that anything below those floors was just storage and such. It took nearly a half-hour to tour those three decks so as to show her where she would be living for the next month or so, the doctors had refused to let her leave until she was completely healed. On pain of death, or even more broken bones. Though she had been skeptical of that threat, the crew had assured her that it was legit. By the time they finished she had met more people than she had ever been introduced to and learned just as many embarrassing secrets about all of the people she had met from Thatch, who deemed telling her was a way to keep one up on the crewmembers. Why she would need that she didn't know.

She shook her head before finger brushing her hair to tame it. She brushed off her borrowed shirt, which was the color of coral and showed a lot more cleavage than she was used to. Her shirt overlapped with her slightly-larger-than-she-would-have-liked off-white capri's which reached down just past her knees and could be tied shut by strings. To help keep the slightly-too-large capri's around her waist she acquired a navy blue sash which she had to wrap around her waist twice to not trip over its length. She wiggled her toes for a second in her sandals which were strapped securely to her feet. She had flat out refused heels, she couldn't walk, let alone, fight in them. She wouldn't win any beauty pageants, but it got the job done. She took a deep breath, readying herself for the craziness that was this crew and pushed open her door. Taking a moment to orient herself she turned down the hall. Just as she started in the direction of the infirmary a door opened a little ways down the hall. Marco stepped out of the doorway rubbing his hair and yawning. Opening his eyes he glanced up and saw her standing in her doorway looking confusedly at him.

"The guest room is next to the Commanders yoi." Was all he commented. She nodded stiffly not really looking him in the eyes but glancing more at the top of his head. Marco shrugged it off as the she was simply not comfortable looking him in he eyes.

"Where are you heading, I'll take you there." He commented amicably catching up with her.

"Thank you, I'm going to the infirmary to get some pain medicine." She said falling into step with him occasionally throwing him glances.

"How do you like the ship yoi?" He asked congenially.

"It's… insane. There's more people here than I imagined." She paused momentarily looking up at his hair again, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." He shrugged slightly directing her down a hallway.

"How can you let a complete stranger walk around your ship and not be worried? You even showed me where the crew sleeps." She asked nervously glancing up at him again.

"Oh that? Even if you wanted to you wouldn't be able to kill us, you're not strong enough. Besides Pop's wouldn't have let you stay if you had been that kind of person yoi. It's also why the guest room is right next to the commanders."

"Oh." She looked up at his head again causing him to run a hand through his hair with a frown, "Can I ask another question?" She said as they just about reached the infirmary.

"Sure." He chuckled.

"Do you die your hair often? It's a lovely shade of purple that really brings out your eyes."

"… THATCH!"

"It seems you got very lucky when you fell, only you're arm is severely broken. I did find fractures on your right Tibia bone and a few on your right Humerus bone. I want you to be careful with those, lots of rest and no jumping around. We wouldn't want those fractures to get bigger. Follow these instructions and you'll be healed in about a month." The doctor explained looking up from his clipboard to look her straight in the eye. Daring her to question him. Or refuse, she couldn't really tell. She was sitting in the sick bay on a cot being reexamined by the doctor to make sure he didn't miss anything before.

"Yes doctor, I will try my hardest to follow your instructions."

"Dear, I'm sure you will do your utmost to follow them to a T. None of the crewmembers will give you grief if they do tell just mention my name, that will shut them up. Also if you come back here more injured than before I'll break every bone in your body so you can't leave until you heal. But we've been over this before, so I'm sure you understand." The doctor replied with a gentle smile on his face.

"Every bone in my… Give me grief? Why would they do that?" She asked stopping herself from reacting to that last part with a shiver, steering the conversation in another direction. The doctor just chuckled.

"The crewmembers will want to see your devil fruit power, or they'll pick a fight with you, or they'll prank you. They don't mean any harm by it, well most of them anyways." She gazed back surprised at him.

"Why would they want to do that? I have not offended them have I?"

"No no, not at all, they just want to get to know you. Don't worry too much about it, the commanders have been asked to keep an eye on you."

"Oh." She squeaked out just as the infirmary door opened and Thatch's head peaked around the corner to be met by the doctors glare.

"You done? Good, let's go eat something!" She left a little quicker than was probably good manners. That man just scared the hell out of her.

It took a while to reach the food gallery and even longer to get their food and be seated, though the room was much less crowded then the night before. Thatch had directed her to a table where she sat down next to Ace and across from Marco.

"Hey, you a bird Zoan?" Ace asked the question through a mouth full of food before she was able to sit down fully, gaining chuckles from the others at his sudden question. She just stared at him for a moment before sitting down all the way.

"I am human." She huffed indignantly.

"So you can't change into a bird? Lame, now I can't make fun of you like I make fun of the Flaming Turkey over there." Ace smirked waving a spoon full of food in Marco's direction who scowled in response.

"Yes I can change into a bird. I ate a Tori Tori no mi." She mumbled picking up her sandwich and taking a small bite.

"Oooh. What model?" He asked shoving food from his (and subsequently others who couldn't fend him off) plates.

"Err, don't really know. It kind of looks like a crane, but all purply." Thatch raised an eyebrow at that. Purple Crane. Interesting, even if the girl was lying about something.

"Weird. I'll have to come up with a nick name for you." The last part he mumbled just loud enough for her to catch it. She stiffened slightly.

"Please refrain from calling me anything other than my given name." She replied tersely with a sniff sticking her nose a little higher in the air.

"Ahh, that's no fun, err, cupcake?" She just looked at him disbelievingly.

"That's probably the worst nick name I have ever heard."

"Well I was coming up with it on the fly okay, give me a few hours and I'll come up with something better, Feather's." He took a huge bite of pasta to cover the slight blush on his cheeks.

"Better, but no dice Ace." Thatch put in, "Beside's she already has a nick name. Sparks! It's super cute and fits her perfectly."

"And in what way would that be." She asked slightly annoyed.

"Oh just that you're a little firecracker just waiting to go off. It'll be fun to see who you explode at, just make sure you wait till I'm there to watch before you do." Thatch smirked pointing at her with a fork covered in spaghetti. She simply sniffed again not deigning to comment and taking another bit of her sandwich. She looked down at her plate. All of the food she had gotten looked extremely appetizing, except for that little corner of death where Thatch _insisted _on putting the small peas-of-death. She grimaced at them. She pushed them closer to Ace, hoping he would take them. However, he seemed to completely ignore them in favor of other things on her plate. Like the peaches. She suddenly stabbed downward with her fork, causing Ace to curse and others around her to laugh at him. She blushed slightly, she hadn't meant to do that, she just didn't want anyone else to eat them.

"Anyways, I have kitchen duty for lunch today, so you're with me Sparks." Thatch continued completely undeterred by the look she gave him.

"Those that don't work don't eat! Come on, let's go dump our trays and head to the back. Later guys." Thatch waved at the rest of the table before dragging her off the bench and away.

* * *

_In the Kitchen._

"What, you mean you've never peeled potatoes before?!" Thatch looked scandalized at the news hands covering his heart.

"No I'ven't. N'vr needd t." Was all she mumbled back looking down at her sandaled feet, scuffing slightly at the floor boards. When she peaked up through her bangs she saw an calculating look on his face before it was wiped out with a grin.

"Well that's alright, cause you're about to learn how. Not to brag or anything but I happen to be the best potato peeler on the entire ship." He bragged brushing off imaginary dust from his impeccable chef uniform. After a momentary pause she snorted rolling her eyes, "I don't think that's something you should brag about to loudly, others might hear you." He just laughed.

Thatch watched from the kitchen island as Kepi peeled potatoes with a look of complete concentration on her face, eyebrows drawn together and lips slightly pursed. He was confused about this girl. He, and the rest of the commanders had been told that Marco had found The Storm's mask. The person who in the last year had killed numerous people, most of them nobles was this little thing, who one moment spoke like a noble herself and the next like someone who had never actually interacted with another. She had the manners, the skill set (or lack thereof), heck she even had the same straight back posture that looked like her back was trying to imitate a steel rod that nobles seemed to acquire. Even when peeling potatoes. Just looking at her sit there like that made his back cringe in sympathy. So that beggared the question, why was a noble like herself killing other nobles? Didn't that bunch band together to pray on the poor. He knew he was over generalizing, but all of his experience with nobles were bad ones. And her killings weren't even a select killing of a few nobles, so it couldn't be revenge killings. Then there was the slave aspect, which was the only thing linking everything together. That only brought up more questions. Almost all nobles, especially the rich ones, kept slaves. It was considered common place. Was she once a slave who was taught manners? Was that why she had a vendetta against the slave traders?

Pops had told the commanders to keep an eye on her. He said he would speak to her when the time was right. To Thatch it just sounded like a challenge to see if he could figure her out, and if there was anything he liked to do, it was solve puzzles (and prank others, which in a way was solving a puzzle too) and the girl was just one big enigma. He already had a good start from today and yesterday's meals, she had been a little less tense he just had to figure out how to get her to open up more. He paused in his musing for a moment before snorting loud enough for Kepi to hear him and look up with a puzzled look on her face. He just smiled at her with a wide smile and a glint of mischievous in his eyes.

That was how Kepi found herself crouching behind a couple of barrels after being dragged along behind Thatch. Thatch had planted her there and told her to wait. He then proceeded to paint a few of the crewmembers who were sleeping out on deck with a variety of colors before rejoining her and was now waiting for them to wake up. After being pushed behind the barrels by Thatch, she had watched the entire thing contemplatively.

"Why did you prank them? Have they done something to you?" She asked a few moments later of when Thatch joined her behind the barrels. He looked over at her with a surprised look on his face before facing the sleeping crewmembers again.

"You don't prank someone because they did something to you, well unless he pranked you first, you do it for fun!"

"Oh." She looked surprised before smiling wanly up at him, "I didn't know that." At this Thatch turned his full attention on her, completely forgetting about the crewmembers, and looked her in the eyes.

"You've never pranked anyone before?" She shook her head,

"Everyone was too afraid of me to try and I just never had anyone close enough to prank, so I never learned how." Thatch looked scandalized. That was before he slowly grew a shit-eating grin that sent a shiver down her spine. He reached over and took her hands in his own. Taken by surprise, she blushed, not used to or expecting the contact. He pulled her hands out a little (really only turning her hurt hand over in the sling) with the palms facing upwards. He let her hands go and reached behind him and pulled out the paint brush and bucket. He quickly handed her both, brush in her hurt arm and bucket in the other, before having her stand up. She looked at her hands in confusion not really paying attention to Thatch, not until he pushed her out from behind the barrels causing her to stumble out in the open. She then heard cussing coming from right in front of her, caused by the crewmembers Thatch had pranked. He had thrown a rock at them to wake them up early. The crewmembers who noticed the state their clothes and hair were in. Who spotted her and the bucket of paint. Who were now looking at her with murder in their eyes. Who were now taking a few steps toward her, obviously about to attack. She dropped the bucket and brush before taking a step back raising her uninjured hand in a gesture of surrender.

They charged. She panicked and… disappeared? Before anyone could react there was a loud, thunderous boom shortly followed by a concussive blast of air that rocked the Moby Dick. Then halfway across the deck Kepi appeared skidding forward unable to stop.

"Too fast, too fast, _too FAST!_" She cried moving too fast to stop. She realized just where she was heading; straight for Whitebeards chair. A few terrified moment later, and just before she ran-stumbled into Whitebeards legs, he caught her in one big hand swinging her around in the air to help slow her forward motion. After a moment he slowly brought his hand forward holding Kepi out right in front of him. She dangled a few feet above the deck, looking a little out of it. Silence reigned on the deck for a few surprised moments before everyone began talking at once crowding around Whitebeards chair trying to talk to Kepi. She clutched tightly to one of Whitebeards fingers as he gently set her down, with a look of fear on her face. She was starting to shift slightly into her hybrid form, purple feathers mixing in with her hair, nails sharpening, legs lentghening, eyes becoming an electric yellow that seemed to be swallowed as her pupils dilated, her breathing began to pick up as she took a step away from Whitebeards hand, and subsequently, the crowd.

"ENOUGH!" Whitebeards voice rang out above her head effectively silencing the crowd and startling Kepi away from completely shifting. Whitebeard looked down at her calmly, prompting her to explain.

"I… I was startled. I apologize." She stuttered out taking in deep gulps of air to further calm herself. Stunned silence followed her statement before Whitebeard broke out into his larger-than-life laugh, shortly followed by the rest of the crewmembers. Her entire face turned crimson. After a moment though, she lifted her head into the air with a sniff and a cross look in her eyes searching for a way to escape, ahem, retreat from them. Then she spotted Thatch making his way towards her through the crowd chuckling. That was the last straw.

"If. You. Are. Quite. Done. Thank you." She exclaimed angrily, pronouncing each word before making her way through the crowd, glaring at anyone who dared to comment. Not that they could have, they were all too busy laughing themselves silly.

"No good bunch of… unwashed.. uncouth… cantankerously-caterwauling tainted spawn of a…." She continued muttering insults under her breath as she passed Marco who had just come up on deck wondering about the explosion.

"What happened yoi?" He asked confused, hearing some of the insults and seeing the (still) laughing crowd.

"Ask Thatch." Was all she responded with, giving him a hard glare, just daring him to question her further. He raised his hands. She walked below deck, heading for her room with a slight limp.

That's were Ace found her a few hours later, laying on her bed reading a well worn book with a leather covering. She glanced over at him surprised at his sudden entrance.

"Dinner time." Was all he said after bursting through the door. She nodded, slowly relaxing, before she looked back at her book before dog earing the page and closing it with a snap. She stood up and put it in her bag before heading towards him.

"What were you reading?" He said holding the door open for her.

"A book written by a good friend of mine."

"Oh? What's it about."

"…The World."

"Sounds interesting, can I read it?"

"I'm sorry, but it is one of a kind and very dear to me."

"That's too bad." And he did sound disappointed.

"What's it called anyways?"

"Servitus. Libertas."

"Interesting name. What does it mean?"

"Slavery. Freedom." Ace looked at her out of the corner of his eyes with a raised eyebrow. She smiled genially up at him.

"You're going to like dinner, Thatch decided that it would be peach themed tonight." She grinned happily at that.

* * *

_The next day…._

"Island sighted!" Was shouted by the watchman at the top of his lungs, shortly followed by the ringing of the warning bell. An hour later, they were anchored off the shore of the island. The ship had been organized into different groups, those that would stay on board, those that were up for some free time on land, and those that would go searching for supplies. The island that they had stopped at was uninhabited and covered with towering trees that rose hundreds of feet high using their branches to scrape at the sky. She had been invited by a couple of the crewmembers that were going foraging. Since she hadn't been on land in a few days and wanted to do something useful, she accepted their invitation.

The animals on the island were strange, they had a mixture of many different animals running throughout their bodies giving them a fierce look, but for the most part they were docile. Some were so docile in fact that they were able to catch a herd of Buffaroo, as they had taken to calling them since they hopped on two legs but had the general face and shagginess of a buffalo, and herded them back towards the ship. Kepi didn't help overly much though she had tried only to have her proposal shot down with a shiver from the crew who explained that the doctors on the ship weren't to be messed with, especially after what happened yesterday. Thatch still couldn't sit right. After corralling the Buffaroo into a makeshift pen the search party went even farther into the brush. The fading sunlight showed them their path as it filtered down through the huge sweeping trees. Picking their way carefully through the shoulder height foliage for a few minutes looking around at the different types of strange plants and animals that had come out of their dens to watch the crew found an old deserted road. It was totally unexpected and seemed to just appear out of nowhere. One moment they were wading through tall grass, the next they stumbled out and onto a path of uneven stones that had only small amounts of plants growing in between the cracks. The path was wide and could have easily held multiple carriages parallel to each other.

Kepi kneeled down on the ground, running her hand over the stones looking around intensely, picking up a few rocks and examining them in the light. The crew looked at her strangely before calling for a break. They were sitting around on the stones, breaking massive leaves off of the trees to use as cushions trying to make themselves comfortable as they brought out snacks. They were quietly talking amongst themselves, many watching her study the ground with interest. Kepi just kept studying the stones beneath her feet with a puzzled expression on her face before suddenly standing up straight gaining the attention of the crowd.

"I am going to follow the road." Was all she said before turning to look into the depths of the forest further down the path. The crewmembers looked at each other for a moment before shrugging and leaning further back, if she wanted to look around that was fine by them. They did call out warnings of not straying too far and to keep herself safe.

* * *

_A few minutes later and a change of scenery… _

Kepi walked on the road for a little while, taking in the large flowers that started to appear along the side of the road that had started to appear around the bend of where the Whitebeard group had taken a break. She was discomfited. The entire area was silent, eerily so. There were no small animals running through the brush, no birds singing in the trees. There was only her, the road, and the growing number of flowers. Something about them made her nervous, it could have been the way they moved, or the way they smelled, so she tried to keep as silent as possible when moving past them. They were all of varying shades of red and seemed to sway to an unheard beat and whenever she passed one the flower head would appear to follow her. They ranged from her height to almost twenty feet tall with petals the size of a small rowboat, all of which were closed tightly. She was watching the flowers so intently that she missed the rock that was sitting in her path, which she tripped over, sending it skittering across the ground cutting through the silence like a knife. She froze. When nothing happened she started forward again.

Then she paused as one of the flowers suddenly swung down into the path. It had large red petals the color of dried blood with bright yellow speckles on the underbelly. She cautiously stepped forward watching the flower for any more movement before scooting around it. Then, without warning, the flower suddenly faced her, unfolding its petals in a fluid motion revealing row upon row of jagged teeth. The flower head abruptly lunged at her making her yell and jump back. At her yell, all hell broke loose. Suddenly instead of dodging one flower, she was dodging them all. Then, like something out of a nightmare, the biggest flower descended from the shadows of one of the trees. When it appeared all of the other flowers pulled back and closed themselves off again. The large flower, with petals such a deep red they were almost black, spread its petals wide enough to block the entire path. It opened its giant maw and hissed. The sound was accompanied by a sickly sweet odor that made her feel sick. Death. It smelled like death. If it hadn't been such a dire situation Kepi probably would have laughed at the flower. Even though it was intimidating, the pattern on the flowers made her lips twitch. They formed a smilie face in a brilliantly happy yellow. It was kind of cute, if you missed the giant teeth. As if hearing her thoughts the flower gave another hiss.

"I see. You will not let me pass unless I defeat you. Fine I accept your challenge then." She replied in a tight voice to the flower, swaying slightly away from the stench. She slowly reached out her good hand setting it level to giant flower while settling in an awkward fighting stance, her right side unbalanced by the sling and restriction of her arm.

"Kwa-Kwa Static Store." She called, watching the flower warily as purple sparks began to jump between her fingers. Then the Giant Red lunged at her and for a second, just as she tensed to jump away, it stopped. It seemed to sniff at her for a moment, obviously confused, before shaking its head like a dog and continuing its lunge once again, forcing her to dodge away. Confused by the momentary pause, she barely got away with her good arm intact. Her hand was no longer in front of her, but by then the sparks had grown into full blown lightning that swirled, captive in her hand giving of a slight purple glow. She dodged another attack, this time landing near the edge of the road right next to the foliage. Smiling at that she watched as the flower turned towards her and lunged again. Its head went into the grass and it munched around confused on whether it had caught her or not. This time when the flower had attacked instead of just dodging away, she dodged under the flower. As soon as the flower smashed into the plants behind her she punched upwards, right into the underbelly of the plant.

"Kwa-Kwa Complete Conduit!" She yelled releasing the lightning in her hand. It worked, shocking the entire plant. To her displeasure the flower, burnt to a crisp, crashed down right on top of her.

* * *

_An infinity later…._

And That's how the crew found her, stuck under a charbroiled carnivorous flower with only her upper body free, cursing and struggling to push herself out from under the thing.

"Cursed foliage! Weed seedling! Stench monger!" She struggled panting. It took her a moment to notice that others had finally arrived. Turning to them she simply glowered, her hair thrown in disarray and her eyes sparking with defiance, practically begging them to start something.

"Are you going to just stand there, or are you going to help." She directed this question to Thatch, who had shown up a little after she left to call the foragers back for the night. He was too busy laughing to hear her question. She stared unimpressed up at him.

"Are you quite finished?" She spoke, her voice rising dangerously after a few moments.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just that, you look so funny stuck underneath there. You must have tried really hard to defeat this thing only for it to all come crashing down on you." Then he burst into more laughter followed with a few chuckles by the crew who, luckily, stepped forward to help her. She blushed faintly.

"I don't see what's so funny." She grumbled, shimming her way from underneath the massive petals and began the process of brushing herself off.

"You didn't see it from my perspective." Thatch said in between _giggles_.

"Is that so?" She looked at the men behind Thatch and raised an eyebrow questioningly. They smirked, getting her meaning, and nodded before lunging forward and pushing Thatch, who landed right on top of her, who's momentum she used against him to swing him right under the lifted flower petal. The men who had held it up for her dropped it so that the only part visible of Thatch was his butt. After a momentary pause to drink in the sight, the crew burst into full blown laughter. Kepi chuckled as Thatch's arms started to wiggle free from the flower trying to inch his way out.

"You're right I understand now. From this perspective it is funny." She said kneeling next to legs before giving his struggling arm a pat. She could hear muffled cursing coming from under the flower.

"Pops, you should have seen it! It was _huge. _And she had taken it down with one blow, I think since I didn't really see, and not only that flower, but all the rest too. I think they were all connected by roots or something. I don't know how she did it, but they were all burnt to a crisp!" Whitebeard listened to the excited story telling of one of his sons. He laughed along with his story of how they had found Kepi struggling to get out from the comically overgrown flower.

Kepi. Such a strange woman. She was a zoan, yet somehow she could still use lightning. The only person who had the properties of both a zoan and a logia was Marco, and he was a mythical zoan. There were few, very few, fruits of that kind in the world. So few that Only the Tenryuubito had them, they never ate them though, they were more like family heirlooms. Marco had stolen his as a child and as he was escaping slavery. Who exactly was this woman with the power of a mythical zoan. He looked down at the newspaper sitting at his bedside, which showed the front page article of one of the Tenryuubito. The picture of the woman who had been kidnapped almost a year ago from Mariejois. Sophia Grandioles. _No, she is too unlike them, her still has life in her. She has a dream. She can't be one of _them.

* * *

And so ends chapter 2. Did you like? I put in the whole naming attack thing, I think its cool, but whatevs. I originally was only going to do like, three chapters or something. But then people actually liked what I wrote (no pressure or anything guys, jeeze (I'm just complaining, I don't mind the pressure)) I would definetly love to hear some feedback. The use of kwa-kwa will be evident later on. If you don't know what her fruit is, you'll either figure it out (or you won't) I'm not saying _anything~. _Also, I generally don't like to cuss in my stories, but I will throw in a few here and there when I feel it will make a better impact or discription. I love to make up curses though, it's fun. If you want to see a creative curse in here, let me know and I'll try to fit it in!

Disclaimer: I have never, will never, nor ever claimed to own One piece. Should probably have put this in the first one but oh wells.

Spoilers for next Chappie? Hmmm… maybe a little history on her, and maybe a little on the world (noncanon) IDK my BFF Jill. I kinda just make this stuff up on the fly.

I also love constructive criticism.

Love it.

Love. It.

Thanks for reading guys!


	3. The Storm that Sees

"_Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves_."  
― Abraham Lincoln

* * *

The Storm that Sees

That night the crew partied for the first time since her arrival. The entire crew was boisterous and excitable. They danced and sang well into the night. This was Kepi's first party that didn't involve ball gowns and snobbery, here people were friends, family. She liked it.

They had set up on one of the beaches across the bay from the Moby Dick. The bonfires roared spitting flames into a night sky that was lit up by thousands of stars. The star's and fire highlighted the monstrous trees in the back ground, giving a feeling of intimacy to the entire party. Kepi sat near the edge of the ring of bonfires, her back to the trees, and watched with a small smile on her face while the crew partied. She laughed at some of the antics the crew got up to. One guy had shoved sticks so far up his nose that they had gotten stuck, causing one of the other crew members to try and pull them out. Regardless to say, hilarity ensued. Most of these antics happened because the beer and sake flowed like a river. The majority of the crewmembers had gotten drunk and were making fools of themselves.

"Hshello prity womin! Wshould shou dansh with me?" Came an overly enthusiastic crewmember who had obviously drank too much.

"Ah, I must politely decline." She said staring at him with wide surprised eyes. This caused Thatch to laugh and comment, "Come on Sparks, live a little! Here, have some sake." Kepi grimaced at the bottle Thatch held out to her before gently pushing it away.

"I am fine, thank you. I don't drink alcohol. I get drunk too easily."

"Ahhhh. That's no fun, I want to see you drunk."

"No, I assure you, you do not." She said forcefully causing him to pout. Just then Ace came over, seeing what Thatch was trying to do, and decided he would try and help.

"Come on Princess, lighten up it's a party you should enjoy it!" He practically yelled, already a little drunk. He grabbed the bottle and forced into her hands before looking expectantly at her. Unnoticed by them she had flinched at the nickname.

"I am already enjoying the party, I don't need alcohol to help me." She said trying to give the bottle back, only for the men to pull their hands away and refuse, all the while looking expectantly at her. With a sigh she looked down at the bottle with one more grimace before holding it up and taking a quick sip. This of course wasn't good enough for the men so they demanded she take another. And another. And another, until there wasn't anything in the bottle left and her face was flushed. And the last thing she remembered was laughing extremely loudly at Ace falling asleep in his food.

* * *

_To Early in the Freaking Morning…_

Kepi blearily opened her eyes to the glaring sun of midmorning. Blinking rapidly she tried to focus of on where she was and what had happened, but she couldn't remember. Then a shadow blocked out the sun causing her to focus past the glare to see a smiling face. A face that was way too happy for her being drunk.

"Good morning Sunshine! It's time to get up~~~." Thatch's voice rang out cheerily cutting like a knife through her brain. She groaned, clamping her eyes shut and curling into herself.

"G 'way. No un ike's you." She mumbled.

"Woah, someone's grumpy." He said squatting down next to her holding a small vial and wiggling it.

"No worries though, I have something that will make the pain all go away." She cracked an eye open, looking at the little bottle skeptically.

"Wha's in it?"

"Oh, just my homemade concoction that helps you battle a hangover." She looked at it again before slowly reaching a hand up and grasping for it. Thatch unscrewed the lid and handed it to her. She brought it her lips, looking once more at Thatch, before drinking it all in one gulp. She started gagging.

"The only thing is, it tastes like shit." He remarked cheerily. She glared at him again before sitting up and shaking her head a little.

"Woah. My headache, it's gone!" She looked up dazedly at him.

"If you bottled that and sold it you'd be richer than Gold Roger." She smiled slightly climbing to her feet readjusting her sling, "You just need to get rid of that awful taste."

"I leave it tasting like that to remind people that drinking too much comes with a price. Otherwise these idiots would get drunk every night." He grinned in reply waving in the general direction of the crew still spread out across the beach. "Anyways, a group of us are gunna follow the road and since you seemed interested in it yesterday I thought you might wanna tag along."

It was true, she was interested in the road, it reminded her of some of the older streets littering the back alleys of Mariejois. The alleys she had traveled so much in her youth. They had the same pattern, same stone type and style. So similar that even she noticed it, even though she had never paid all that much attention to the road before.

"Sure, I'll be along in a moment, I just want to clean up. I probably look terrible."

"There's no probably about it." Thatch laughingly dodged the punch she sent him.

* * *

_Inside the Creepy Forest of Now Dead Flowers…_

"What happened to all of the flowers? Why did you guys burn them all down?" Ace looked over at her with a dead-pan expression at her question. They were walking side by side down the road looking at all of the burnt dead flowers that littered the ground.

"You did that. Don't know how, but you did." She looked at him perplexed.

"There is no possible way I did that. I didn't go anywhere near these yesterday. If I did, why didn't I see them all burnt when we walking back yesterday?"

"Probably too busy dodging Thatch to notice." Ace snickered, "Just wish someone could have gotten a picture of that, I could have black mailed him." She blushed, smiling slightly. She didn't know what had come over her in that moment. She had never done anything like it before, she guessed that this is what would be described as a "prank." She could now understand why Thatch pranked people all the time.

"I will have to remember that for next time."

"Next time?" Thatch asked coming up behind them and slinging his arms around both Ace and her, "There won't be a next time. Fool me once and all that." Ace snickered at him.

"I can't wait until she gets you again."

"Ha! Just for that I'll have to plan something special for you, wait till we get back to the ship!" They were approaching a curve in the road that was obscured by the dense plant growth. She had come with a group of around seven crewmembers including Thatch and Ace. They were at the front of the group trouping along the road, so when the giant decrepit monolith reared into view they all stopped moving and stared. The tree line had been so thick that they hadn't even noticed it was there, even with all of its height and mass; if they hadn't turned the corner, they never would have known the building was there. Some of the crewmembers who didn't see them stop in time ran into them, effectively breaking the spell the building had placed on them.

The edifice was huge, it towered high above them reaching well into the tree branches. She could see some of the tree branches were actually connected to the top layers of the building to help support its immense bulk. But what really captured her attention wasn't the size or the sheer scope of the place, which was very impressive, no, it had been the faded and flecked painting of a large circle with four triangles sprouting from it like a weed painted onto the front of the building. She could barely make out what it was because of the wind and elements.

Instead of feeling like a part of nature, the building seemed to be rip in the scene of the tranquil forest. It was cold, and brutal. It was grotesque, it was something that _shouldn't exist._ Ace turned towards Thatch to make a comment but before he could he noticed the expression on Kepi's face. It was one of pain and fear and there, layered under all of the those emotions, an unfathomable anger. Her face was twisted into an ugly expression, one of the most expressful he had ever seen her face and it just didn't look right. He nudged Thatch slightly, tilting his head in Kepi's direction. Thatch looked over and his eyes widened when he saw the expression on her face.

"I wonder what this building was." One of the crewmembers commented in a hushed voice. The other crewmembers had been whispering quietly behind them looking worriedly at the building; they had seen the sign painted on the front too. Even without that sign, there was just something about this place that seemed… off.

"It's the Lost City of Madred. ubi nihil est nisi ipsum dolor sit." Her face smoothed into a blank slate as she stated this staring at the building like it would attack her. Everyone looked over at her with questions in their eyes.

"What?" A blond haired crewmember asked confused.

"It is a place of pain. And death. This place is cursed." The crew shuddered backing away from the building in shuffling steps.

"What did you call it? Midrid? Midgard?" Thatch asked confused. She simply sighed running her good hand through her hair.

"Madred. It is said to be a cursed auction house built almost 500 years ago belonging to the Tenryuubito. It was a flourishing "Public Employment Security Office," she snorted at this term, "that was said to have suddenly shut down and all the gold and treasure was left behind." At that last statement a great cheer raised through the ranks of the pirates and some even began to rush forward.

"WAIT!" She cried jumping forward in front of them, "You don't understand. If you go in there chances are you. Will. Die." She said firmly enunciating every word for added affect. This gave the crew pause.

"And why do you say that?" Ace asked standing in the same spot he had stopped in.

"The curse!" Was her serious exclamation causing all of the crewmembers to shiver and take another step back. Ace looked at her quizzically.

"Care to explain?"

"I guess. It might take a while, we should go back down the road away. This building makes me nervous."

* * *

_Sitting on Uncomfortable Boulders Listening to a Tale…_

"Madred was set up almost 500 years ago. It was set up by the Grandioles family, one of the most influential, wealthy, and corrupt of all of the Tenryuubito families…

_Slavery had started to pick up about a century before Madred was built. They only used criminals back then, and only for construction purposes. No one kept "Pets" and normal citizens were safer for it. Jobs no one else wanted or could do were done. But then one of the Tenryuubito came up with a oh-so-_brilliant _idea of not just using criminals. He wanted a beautiful woman to show off to the other nobles since his wife was ugly, and believe me when I say that none of the women in the Families is beautiful. Too much inbreeding for that. Anyways, he ordered one of the Marine admirals at the time to get him the most beautiful woman he saw on his next journey and bring her back to him. So the admiral did. He brought her from one of the island's of the first half of the Grandline. Back then most islands in that part were uninhabited, even more so than now. And this part of the Granline? No one even knew if there was an island at the very end, they probably thought it went all the way up to the Reverse Mountain, no real need to go all the way since you would just go to the first part of the Grandline anyways. But I digress. _

_Her name isn't clear. They didn't even bother to write it down in the history books. But she was taken, and shown off at parties and balls and such. This made the other Tenryuubito jealous, so they raised a clamor about _them _wanting a slave like that themselves. Give us beautiful slaves too. I want one. I deserve one. Give me. And so Slavery began and Madred was built. _

_A hundred years later, Madred was begging to pick up speed. It was easier to set up on an island out in this treacherous side of the Grandline since few lived here and couldn't see the atrocities committed. People heard rumors, but never really saw any concrete evidence. Therefore they didn't panic. If they had, maybe things would have been different._

_Madred was flourishing, it was filled with slaves coming and going, mainly to the Tenryuubito, but also to the few nobles who were brave enough to venture there. The Tenryuubito and slavers made a mistake then, one that would change the course of history for this island. They took one of the admirals wives and sold her into slavery. Yep, one of the _admirals_ wives. He had been away from home on a mission at the time and some no good slaver had seen her and snatched her up. When returned he was so angry at them and demanded that she be returned, but by then it was too late. The Tenryuubito who had bought her refused, after all he _had _paid for her. Even if he had decided to return her, she would never had made it. She died on the trip to Mariejois, were the Tenryuubito had just set up as their home. So, in his grief and rage, the admiral did the unimaginable. He had been ordered somewhere else in the Grandline, however unbeknownst to his commanders he had set out to Madred._

_When he got there, he saw firsthand the horrors of this place and the part in it he had played. _He, _who was supposed to uphold peace was protecting a place like this. It was said he screamed when he realized this, but it wasn't any normal scream. You see he had a mysterious power. Some believed it was a Devil Fruit, others think it was a part of the clan he was originally from. No one knows for sure. But according to his crew they saw him fall to his knees in front of the building, his hands pounding into the dirt screaming this awful high pitched scream that could be heard throughout the entire building. _

_"You who are wrong. You who bring pain to this place, I curse you. May this place devour you. May you be dragged down by the weight of the dead. This place, where there is nothing but pain I curse. I curse you and this place. By my blood, die in agony!" _

_At this proclamation most of the guards and nobles just laughed. The Tenryuuito ordered him killed, so the guards shot the admiral dead. From his wounds his blood leaked out onto the pavement. But not even an week later one of the rooms collapsed and killed a noble. Then a few guards went missing. Then the slaves chains were loosened somehow. But the icing on the straw was when one of the Tenryuubito died. Well it was more like he disappeared and no one could find is body, at least not for a day. By then a month had passed and everyone was spooked, remembering what the admiral had searched high and low but couldn't find him. The next day, when they _did _find the Tenryuubito's body, it was all ripped apart, his innards strewn across the front lawn, blood smeared on the walls. They ran, dragging what they could, which wasn't much because there wasn't enough boats for everything and everyone. Eventually everyone made it off, never to return. What was left was this building, filled with nothing but painful memories. Over time they forgot about where this place was, or they wanted to forget this place, who knows. And so it finally became known as the Lost City of Madred. Where there is nothing but pain._

* * *

She sat quietly looking into the distance nibbling delicately on a rice cracker. Her gaze was locked onto the building they couldn't see anymore.

"How do you know all of this? You were a noble weren't you." Ace said his face passive, peering up at her from where he was sitting on the ground. She faltered for a moment eyes widening in surprise.

"S… Something like that." She said flickering her gaze over to his nervously. She gulped, flinching slightly and closing her eyes like she was waiting for a blow. He just shrugged without caring. The rest of the crewmembers let out exclamations of surprise for a second before shrugging as well.

"It, makes s'nse if ya think about it. She always talks kinda pretty ya know?"

"Yeah, she also sit's straighter than a 90 degree cliff."

"She can't peel potatoes." She blinked her eyes open glancing around at the crew, before reaching up and rubbing them slightly to get rid of the dampness. She was happy that they accepted her. Not that she had any illusions about what their reactions would be like if they learned all of the story, of just _what _noble family she came from. There are some things even this crew wouldn't accept. Some people. Good thing she wasn't staying. Yep, definitely good.

"I don't know if there is a curse, or if there is anything left in there, but I would like to go explore it if we could. I'm not sure that the curse won't kill us is all. I also don't know if we should take anything."

"Well, we'll figure it out along the way. What are we waiting for? Let's go exploring!" Thatch yelled jumping up from his spot. His yell was quickly echoed by the rest of the crew.

* * *

ubi nihil est nisi ipsum dolor sit - where there is nothing but pain

**Hey guys, sorry for the long wait and the short chapter. I've had a rough last month, I had finals, then I started work and then I had to put down my dog (Chip, the cutest dog ever). Anyways this is pretty short, but I felt like I needed to give you guys something. I also realized that none of my break lines where in the story, so if anyone knows how to put those in I would be ever so grateful if you told me!**

**To answer the most common question, no I don't think I'll pair her with someone (Though I agree that if I did it would so totally be with Marco, since he is a sexy beast)**

**And to all of you who commented, thank you!**


	4. The Storm that Shines

Fair warning, this contains a little gruesomeness, though nothing too graphic. Remember, I MADE THIS FOR YOU!

* * *

"Hypocrisy, the lie, is the true sister of evil, intolerance, and cruelty."  
\- Raisa Gorbachev

* * *

The Storm that Shines

The rusty hinges of the grand door squeaked in protest against the seemingly gentle push that Ace gave them. As they opened the crew could see the murky beginnings of the building. Kepi stood behind Ace shifting impatiently, wanting to go explore. She would have opened them herself but with her broken arm it would have been too much for her to handle; she wasn't monstrously strong like the rest of the crew. With Ace leading the way with a hand full of fire to light the way, the crew crept slowly into the tomb-like room.

Calling it a room didn't really do it justice, since even 500 years of neglect hadn't decreased the obvious beauty of the space. The high vaulted ceiling which reached at least a hundred feet above their heads was gold plated in intricate designs, most of which had faded with age. A grand stair case seemed to grow from the very floor straight ahead at the back of the room and curved upwards with marble steps and railing. The hall ways on either side of the stair case led to two large doorways. Portraits lined the walls, filled with the images of dour looking men and women. The space gave off a cold beauty that both compelled and repelled them. Regardless, they stepped into the room onto the marbled ground; it was so clean that it actually shined in Ace's fire.

The most eerie thing about this place was that it looked like the owner had simply stepped out for a moment and was going to come back at any moment. There was no debris laying around on the ground from decay, no leaves from broken shutters, in fact there were no broken shutters. What really creeped them out was the giant portrait of a heavy-set man sitting on a chair that hung at the top of the staircase. His brown hair was pulled back in a ridiculous pony tail, his eerie, sunken gaze seemed to follow them as they slowly made their way forward looking around and subconsciously huddling closer together under the pressure of his lifeless watch. He tracked them across the floor to the bottom of the staircase. They all stood there for a moment, looking at different pictures and furniture that seemed to ring the wall, taking it all in before Ace broke the silence.

"Hey Kepi, if you gained, ohh, about 80 pounds and turned into a man you would look exactly like the guy in the picture." Ace joked loudly. She snapped her head around to glower at him.

"I am nothing like that man." She said through gritted teeth before she stalked away after flipping her hair over her shoulder and sticking her nose a little higher in the air with a sniff.

"What did I say?" Ace asked confusedly to a crewmember, who just shrugged and started to wander off.

Thatch climbed the stairs to study the painting. The man stared coldly back, even just on paper he looked like someone Thatch would want to gut. Thatch looked down at the bottom of the painting which read:

_Dedicated to Sir Sophocles Grandioles, Who Without his Generous Support None of the Would Have Been Possible._

He stared up at the painting for a moment more, noting the likeness between Kepi and the Tenryuubito. He started to get a picture of just who Kepi Meriweather might be, and his realization made him uneasy. He would have to talk to Pops. After they found the treasure of course. Priorities.

* * *

_Second Level of the Creepy Building…_

Kepi wondered the halls looking through the many doors that littered the building. The rooms were pretty boring, they mainly contained old-styled furniture, she had become bored because few contained anything else. That and she was thoroughly lost. The building was enormous and as soon as she had passed through a pair of doors and up a flight of stairs she had lost all sense of direction. It didn't help that the passages were almost completely dark, except near the windows where some light could filter in through the layer of grime on the outside. That was another weird thing about this place. It was immaculate, like someone hadn't cleaned in a few days instead of a few hundred years.

She came to one of the dirty windows at the end of a three-way intersection, looking at it contemplatively for a moment before stopping. Since she was lost she might as well take a look outside to maybe get her bearings. However, when she tried to pry the window open the only response she got was a cry of protest and a bulging of its frame as it was unable to meet her demands of opening. At this she stopped struggling with window with a sigh, knowing she would have to break it to get it open and was unwilling to damage the building. Sighing again, this time in exasperation, she turned around to head deeper into the unknown, when out of the corner of her eye she saw a pale flicker. She turned her head sharply but by the time she looked at the spot whoever it was was gone.

"Thatch, that's not funny." She spoke, certain that Thatch or some other member of the crew were trying to play a prank on her. No response. Suddenly she felt uneasy.

"Ace? Anyone?" She took a tentative step forward and felt a cool breeze blow by her face and a dull thunk resounding behind her. Spinning around fast enough to make her dizzy she located an ornate knife sticking out of the wall. Knife? She blinked; why would one of the crew throw a knife at her, maybe one of them truly disliked her after finding out she was a noble. Then something wet ran slowly down her face. Reaching up she absentmindedly swiped at whatever it was and took a step forward so that the murky light of the window could illumine it. It was blood. More precisely her blood. Then she felt the slight sting of a cut on her face. Now she was scared. She reached up and grabbed at the knife, only to have her hand go right through it. She tried again before hearing a sound behind her. Turning slowly she looked back the way she came and standing in the hallway, glowing with a pale blue light, was a tall man in old-fashioned Marine Admiral's coat and holding up a more knives. Definitely not the crew.

"H- hello?" She whispered to the figure.

"You should not have come back Grandioles. Your blood will be MINE!" And suddenly the chase was on. Kepi sprinted down the hallways, up different flights of stairs, and around corners. She dodged knives all the while, relying on what little observation haki that she knew. She had to get out, and if she had to fly to do it, so be it. She saw a window at the end of the hall, making a fast decision she dodged another volley of the seemingly endless supply of knives before making a dive for the window. Only for her to bounce off of it like rubber ball. Yelping in pain she shook her head trying to get her bearings only for her to let out a small scream as knife grazed the top of her arm.

Rolling to her feet she ran towards a narrow staircase that was almost vertical in its steepness. If she couldn't get out by a window then she would get to the roof. Or she would die, either were a viable option here. Her thighs shrieked in agony as she took the steps three at a time. Taking a chance she took a brief look over her shoulder to see the ghost-man-thing-killer was still behind her but falling further back as she climbed. Good. She picked up her speed ignoring her aching legs, throbbing semi-healed arm, her shallow cuts. She could live with those. She pushed herself to her physical limit, wishing for once that she could of had a chance to recharge, but not being able to fly or find a source of electricity left her sorely lacking in juice. Focusing on what was ahead she saw what looked like a door approaching fast. It was the moment of truth, would she be able to open the door or would it react in the same way as the window earlier. Time to find out

She jumped the last few steps, her feet left the ground and bent slightly to help protect her stomach. She rammed her entire body into door, raising her good arm to protect herself, she sailed straight through the door. Wood splinters shattered around her, acting like little pieces of wooden shrapnel. She fell rolling into a ball only to spring up and continue running. However, the view she saw made her stutter to a stop, skipping slightly to keep her feet under her. She was at the very top of the building standing on the roof, and surrounding her was the giant forest trees that still towered stoically over her head blocking out most of the light. The area was lit by thousands of tiny luminous flowers that seemed to grow only on the upper echelon of the trees. They were all different colors that moved and swayed in the wind making them look like a flowing sea of stars.

"Beautiful." For a moment she stopped thinking about the thing chasing her. She just breathed, taking in the peace being offered here, this place was sacred. It hadn't felt the pain like the rest of the building had.

"You do not belong here. Your kind will never be welcomed here." The voice rang out from the doorway causing her peace to come crashing all around her. She spun quickly looking at the glowing man. His glow looked like the same that the flowers gave off. He took a menacing step forward raising a knife.

"You are one of _them, _Leave!" A new voice hissed from a dark corner. A woman stepped out, long hair blowing in the nonexistent breeze. She glowed as well, but was more purple than blue. At her voice the first man stopped.

"You shou'nt be 'ere _monster_. 'Avent ya already taken ev'ry thing else 'way from us?! What more ken we give ya?" A gruff voice joined the two. A towering man, who looked to be a half-giant stepped into view. His glow seemed much brighter than the others. Suddenly more and more voices joined theirs rising like a crashing wave surrounding her from all sides. Some cried, some screamed, others hissed. All voices held anger and hate in them. Slowly she crouched down covering her head with her good hand she scrunched her eyes shut, cowering and whimpering, she stayed in that position as she felt whispering hands clutch at her clothing and hair, pulling her every which way. Small cuts were sliced into her skin, but nothing that would be permanently damaging occurred. Finally, having had enough she raised her voice over their quiet thundering.

"Stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop, _please _stop! I don't know what you want, I'm not someone who brought you pain! I wasn't even alive then! Leave me alone!" She stood up as she shouted this glaring at those around her. Quiet descended on the group, the whispering hands moved away.

"Ow don' ya know wha' ya did ta us. Ya were ta one who made us slaves! Ya migh' na' 'ave been livin then, but ya sure are now. Ya came ba' ta this place, where ya ancestors caused us all sor' 'o pain an grief. Ya are a Grandioles arencha?" The half-giant finally spoke, glaring down at her. She glared right back at him with anger and a slight tinge of fear.

"Yes I was born into the Grandioles family. It is one of my greatest shames," she took a deep breath before continuing, "My birth name is Sophia Grandioles. My chosen name is Kepi Meriwether. I-I cannot say I am exempt from the atrocities my ancestors committed, the heavens know that I have committed my fair share of them, but your pain and suffering were not my deeds. I will not regale you with a hypocritical speech on how I am trying to right the wrongs committed so long ago for that would cheapen what occurred. I simply ask that you judge me not for who my blood relatives are, but on who _I _am." Slowly she sat down cross legged bowing her head and closing her eyes; she knew she could not escape even if she tried. She heard indefinable murmurs that seemed to carry on for a long time.

"We've come to a decision." Kepi opened her eyes. Faces with varying degrees of hate on them gazed down at her. Slowly her eyes settled onto the face of the woman with the flowing hair.

"And what did you decide?"

* * *

_Somewhere else in the Freaky Building…_

"Aaaacccceeee~. I can't find Kepi anywhere!"

"So? She's a big girl, she can handle herself."

"Yeah? Well it's your fault that she ran off in the first place, being an insensitive jerk and all."

"_What?! _How was I being an _insensitive jerk, _not that we should really care seeing as how we're _pirates _and all."

"Gasp! How could you say that, she is a delicate maiden and a _lady! _You won't get any girls like that you know."

"Whatever, if she's going to hang out with pirates she's going to have to get used to it. Besides you never answered my question on what it was that I did that upset her so much."

"If you can't figure it out, then I'm not going to tell you." Thatch sniffed in mock offense before turning down yet another hallway lined with doors. At least this one had rooms that they could explore. At first exploring Madred had seemed like it would be exciting; it quickly became boring as they opened room after room with nothing but most surprising thing was that even though the furniture was over 500 years old, it didn't look its age, in fact when Ace had sat down on a chair it didn't even let off a puff of dust much less disintegrate. It gave Thatch the willies.

"I don't think we're going to find anything here, let's go to the next floor, or maybe the dungeon." Ace sighed as he opened yet another door to nothing but furniture.

"Sure, just point the way." Came Thatch's easy going answer, completely forgetting his worry about Kepi at the prospect of adventure and gold. They stepped out of the room closing the door behind them.

"Uuuummm. I… don't know which way to go. Retrace our steps I would guess."

"Okay, retracing, retracing, retra… which way did we come from?" Thatch frowned looking both ways down the hall at the symmetrically placed and perfectly identical doors on both sides. Ace stood there for a second before pointing at exactly the same time as Thatch, only in the opposite direction.

"That way!" They looked at each other and began to argue.

* * *

_The Flower Power Rooftop_…

"We have decided. You are free to go, but on two conditions. First, once you leave, you are to never return. Second, even though you were not directly responsible for what occurred here, you are still from the same family that did. We require a blood price." The woman looked at her serenely, her hair floating around gently in the background.

"How much of a blood price?" Kepi asked stoically, hoping it wasn't something like an arm.

"I would have liked an arm, however that is a steep price and would be unfair to take something from you that we would have taken from your ancestors. Simply making you bleed would may suffice, however we may get… carried away and not stop soon enough. So what we require is a toe."

"A… toe? That's a little, uh, odd."

"Would you rather it be an arm?"

"No, no, definitely not. I need those. Do I get to decide which toe?" The woman cocked her head to the side, glancing over at the half-giant.

"Yes, you may." Kepi looked down at her toes considering each in turn. She wiggled them slightly before reaching up and tapping her second to last toe on her right foot.

"Why this one?" The woman inquired looking at her foot with focused curiously.

"To give you a pinky toe would be an insult on your uh… hospitality. To give my bigger toes would leave me out of action for quite a while. I chose my right foot because it is my strongest." At this the ghosts around her seemed to pause for a moment, their gazes softening, at least they seemed to to Kepi. Then the woman waved the knife-ghost over. Slowly he grinned looking at Kepi. He approached her in a swirl of his cloak. As he got closer she saw the little tears and faint stains barely discernible because of his supernatural glow.

"This is going to sting a little." He reached out and grasped her right foot, drawing it to him.

* * *

_A Time Skip Past the Toe Removal…_

Kepi limped through the building following an old hunched-over ghost carrying a lantern down the stairs so that she would reach the doors.

"So why a toe?" She asked wincing slightly with every step. The old man gazed solemnly back at her.

"So that every step you take on yer journey from now on is a reminder of our pain and our mercy. You can learn to forget a missing finger, but a missing toe is not something a person will easily forget because the toes balance a person."

"Ahhhh… Sound reasoning."

They walked for a whiles further before the old man turned to her.

"Through these doors is the Entrance Hall. Wait there as the others gather the rest of the wanderers, then depart and never return." He spat that last part with particular venom, glared at her, and faded away.

"Thanks for the guidance." She called with a hint of sarcasm to thin air as she pushed the doors open.

* * *

_The Still Arguing Two… _

"This is your fault you know. You have _no _sense of direction."

"_My _fault?! How is this _my fault! _I told you we should have gone the other way, did you listen, no, of course not!" Ace's voice floated through the silent hallways as he threw his hands in the air in exasperation. The two stood in front of a four hallway crossway arguing.

"Of course I don't listen to you, you always get us lost!"

"Not _always." _A quiet cough sounded behind them, which the two didn't hear since they were so engrossed with a shouting match.

"Ha! You admit that you get us lost!" A slightly louder cough.

"I admit nothing, I simply said that I don't get lost!"

"You- you just changed your words!" Suddenly a hacking fit sounded behind them causing them to whirl around almost in sync.

"What do you want!" They punctuated while getting an eyeful of a large glowing man standing in the hallway looking bemusedly at them. They spluttered before sliding back into a fighting stance.

"Now, now I ain' 'ere ta attack ya or anythin, I'm jus' here ta lead ya back ou'side." Thatch and Ace looked at each other. They didn't feel any ill intent from the man-ghost-giant-thing. Straightening they gazed at the man questioningly.

"A'm a ghos' so ya don' 'ave ta ask. Name's Anzo."

"Ace."

"Thatch!"

"Nice ta meetcha, but it's time for ya ta leave." He said turning on a heel and walking away.

"Ahhh… I wanted to look for more treasure." Thatch pouted following behind the man.

"Heh, sorry bu' if your lookin' for treasure ya shoul' 'ave looked out back. We dumped it all back there. We di'nt wan' anthin' from the previous owners. It's yours if ya wan' it." Thatch stared at him for a second.

"I could kiss you right now," Thatch said with a serious face causing the giant man to pause and look at him in surprise, "That is if you weren't a ghost. And a guy. And dead. And glowing. And kind of look like Pops in the right lighting. Did I mention the ghost part?"

Anzo turned to Ace.

"Is he always like this?"

"Pretty much."

* * *

_The Main Hall, Obviously…_

"Did you see that!? It was a _ghost_!"

"I know, I didn't think this place was haunted. Scared the crap outta me. Surprised me when they were so nice an' civil."

"A' know. They were a' polite a' a bu-erfly."

"That don't make any sense."

"Yeah it does, you see a bu…" The doors above the grand staircase opened, cutting off the crewmembers conversation. Ace and Thatch stood in the doorway with the fading presence of the massive man illuminating the darkness behind them.

"Looks like it's time to go!" Thatch called out cheerfully, practically skipping down the stairs.

"But boss, we didn't find nuthin!" A crewmember called out.

"That's alright, I know where to look! We even have permission from the ghosts to take it all." At this statement a wild cheer rose from the crowd.

"Is everyone here? Where's Kepi?" Thatch said counting off the different crewmembers until he came to the realization that their noble guest was missing.

"She's sittin' by the wall boss, I think she fell asleep."

"Alright let's get her and go then." Thatch led the procession over to the doors where Kepi was sitting down with her legs crossed beneath her; she looked to be asleep.

"Kepi, rise and shine darling! There are so many things to see and do, treasure to hunt, riches to be found, and adventures to be discovered!" Kepi blearily opened her eyes before blinking up at him.

"Are you alright?" One of the crewmembers asked, "Ya look kinda pale there." Kepi smiled slightly up at them.

"I am not accustomed to seeing ghosts, it frightened me a little. I'll catch up to you in a moment, I need to wake all the way up."

"Alright, we're going around the back of the building. Anzo said that the ghosts dumped all the treasure back there." Even more cheers resounded at that, followed by a mass exodus through the front doors as the crewmembers scrambled over each other to reach the treasure first. Thatch lingered for a moment looking at Kepi's pale face before following the rest of the group out.

After the front doors closed softly, Kepi leaned back against the wall closing her eyes. Her foot hurt really, really badly. Getting her toe cut off had _hurt, _and it hadn't helped that the ghost that did it seemed slightly insane. And a fleet admiral. She wasn't used to feeling scared of Marines, so having one, albeit an_ old _one, didn't sit quite well. She sat there for a couple more minutes just breathing, before standing up with a very unlady-like grunt. Then suddenly she was sprawled out on the ground. She blinked confusedly, shaking her head to clear it.

"Leavin' so soon?" A quiet, menacing voice suddenly rang out through the silence. She glanced up quickly into the eerie eyes of the pale knife-throwing ghost. He was crouching in front of her holding a knife between his fingers. In his other hand he was holding her toe.

"That… is very disgusting." She finally spoke looking at her toe, "Did you come here to give me my toe back?"

"No. This I will keep, it wasn't everything that I wanted. I wanted you dead, or at least tortured and then killed. The others have gone soft, they shot down my idea saying that you seemed different than your ancestors. Me? I'm not too sure."

"Then why are you here? Did you come to kill me?" She knew, just like on the roof, she wouldn't be able to get away or even attack since she would just faze right through him.

"Sadly, no. I already got my blood price from you, and I am a man, or ghost, of my word. I was more wondering about something you said earlier. Something about not wanting to cheapen what happened to us by saying you were going to right the wrongs. I was wondering if you would… elaborate some more; color me curious." He said looking down and picking at his ghostly nails with the knife. She watched him for a moment before he glanced up at her with a pointed look and then looking back down.

"Hmm, well I-I want to, there's a reas… oh butterscotch, might as well start at the beginning. It shouldn't take too long and will help explain my… motivation? Ambition? To totally destroy the slave trade. You see I was born in Mariejois around 20 years ago…"

* * *

B..b. .. that's all folks!

What do you think? Did I do good? Huh? _Huh? _HUH? Next time you'll learn a lot about Kepi, Yay!

If you haven't noticed by now, I love to use symbolism in my stories. Names are a particular favorite of mine. Sophocles is the male equivalent to sophia. Madred is like Madrid which I read somewhere that it had to do with suffering. Etc…

On a side note, did anyone watch HTTYD 2? It. Was. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing… Amazing.

I *sniff* am so happy and surprised by the *sniffle* amount of people that have followed/faved this story, it makes me so very motivated. *Achooooo!* (Sorry allergies)

Sorry about the late release, I have been really tired for the past few weeks and just decided to crank this out in (almost) one sitting. My biggest problem is with starting the story, everything else is suuuuuupper easy.

Please, please, please, please comment. You have no idea how much of a kick in the butt it is, telling me to get a move on and write some more.

Also I should probably be doing this in every chapter, but I forget so -

**Disclaimer: **_**I do so swear that I have never, nor ever will claim the wonderful workings of Oda-sama in the form of One Piece. I love it too much and would definitely mess it up so everyone should be thanking me. Your welcome btw's.**_


	5. The Storm that Speaks

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do, I only know what I can do!"

\- Kirk, _Star Trek_

* * *

The Storm that Speaks

"Well, I guess I should start at the very beginning, see I was born a beautiful, chubby little baby on Mariejois…"

_I would like to say my parents were overjoyed to see me, to hold me, and to care for me but that would be a lie. The woman who gave birth to me could have cared less about me as a person. To her, and the rest of the families by extension, I was a symbol, an expectation, and the youngest of the two children in which she _had_ to give birth to. I would also have liked to say my sibling and I shared this amazing bond and understood each other straight from the start, but you see that would also be a lie. None of the Tenryuubito "families" really cares about the individuals, they care foremost about their prestige, it was seen as expected for one of the wives to have two children, but they were most definitely never expected to take care of them like any other mother. _

_So I was raised by a governess. No, not a nanny, a _governess. _And believe me when I tell you, all those books where they are portrayed as strict, are an understatement. Not that she could hit me, or really even yell at me, but she found other ways. No, she took her anger, her frustration, out on slaves, on the few servants, and on basically anyone of a lesser rank. She wasn't the only one though, in Mariejois it's very common for this to happen, everyone acted that way, it was a feeding frenzy. Anyways, she was the one who "raised" me. _

_After the governess came teachers, ahem, private tutors. They were the "experts" in their fields. If I ever asked a question, they would always reassure whatever assumption I made was correct. This was enough to placate my brother, but to me? I found it annoying because question' I asked would contradict something they had said. It annoyed me so much that I started to purposely ask questions that I knew were so wrong that I would eventually get a rise from the tutors. The ones who didn't rise to the bait were tutors I asked to be let go._

_So I grew up with some great role models like that. People who hurt others because they couldn't hurt me, and people who went with everything I said. So it came as a little bit of a surprise when a dissimilarity between me and the other Tenryuubito children was discovered - that I was terrified of slaves. I would have nothing to do with them, every time I saw them I would cry. It got so bad that none of the slaves were allowed near me. That was, until my parents found out. _That _didn't fly so well with them, not at all. The funny thing is it took them nearly seven years find out, too. After they found out they decided to force me to hate slaves, in other words, they forced me to suffer the company of a slave. They chose an old slave that had been in the house since _they_ were children._

_His name was Ealdread, something that I didn't learn until a year after we were thrown together. We just called him Furui, which was what he was. It took me almost six months to be able to stand in his presence without crying, and after a year he had won me over enough that I viewed as the father figure I never had._

_Hmmm, why was I afraid of slaves? That's a question that took me years to figure out. You remember what slaves look like right? Death walking. More specifically, their eyes are dead. They have to light, no hope, no future, and no dreams. And as a child I recognized that in their eyes. I didn't pity them, I was to scared of ending up like that to do anything like that. _

_Anyways, Ealdread had been around for longer than any of our other slaves, so long it was unrealistic. I asked him how he could have survived that long, and he just smiled and said he was lucky. I asked if he was lucky why would he be a slave. He laughed at that too. He only laughed around me though, and only when we were alone, at first it unsettled me the way he could switch from a kind, fatherly figure to one of the walking dead. I understood eventually that when he said he was "lucky," he meant he was smart, adaptable. He knew how to work the system, he didn't fight it._

_There were two events in my life that became a defining moments that shaped me into the woman you see before you. The first was around the one year mark that it happened. I was getting increasingly frustrated with the "education" I was receiving and especially at what I was reading in the history books. I was being "taught" information which didn't match up with reality and what Ealdread was telling me. When I went in search of books that would tell the truth, all I would come across were… were crap books that gave the same basic answers. Tenryuubito's are gods among men. They are all powerful. Etc, etc. _

_At this time, I had travelled to many different places with my "family," and I had seen the disparity between the books and the truth. The common people didn't love us. Heck, even the nobles didn't love us, no, they all feared us. Do you know what it's like to walk down the street of a town to the bowed faces of all the occupants? To try and talk to a child, only for the parents to profusely apologize about disrupting whatever it is that I was doing, with tears in their eyes all but praying that I would leave and not take their children or them as slaves? This wasn't what the history books said. We were the families of heroes that saved the world. Why would the people fear us?_

_I wanted to know the truth, I searched everywhere for it, but no one was willing to help. My parents only snorted at my requests, my brother laughed, and my teachers only grew increasingly nervous. I was so desperate that I eventually asked Ealdread if he knew of any books that told the truth. I didn't think he would take me seriously, or even have an answer, being a slave, so when he turned to me with a very serious look on his face, something that almost never happens when we were alone, and said that he knew someone who could get me such books and that it was a secret and I couldn't tell anyone I was shocked. I pinky promised him I wouldn't tell anyone and then followed him out of the house. _

_He led me to a corner of Mariejois that I had never visited before, one that unless you were looking for, you would never be able to find. It was also unlike anything I had ever seen. It was at least three stories high, and each wall was lined from floor to ceiling with shelves of books so much so that you couldn't see an inch of the wall. There were ladders that reached all the way to the top of the shelves. In the corner sat a man in a dirty rolling chair that squeaked something terrible, behind an equally dirty desk reading from an old leather bound book that seemed older than dirt. He looked at Ealdread for a second then looked at me and did a double take. He looked like he was going to rise, when Ealdread waved him down._

_"Go ahead, Sophia. Ask the man what you want to know." The man stared at Ealdread a moment more before slowly relaxing into his chair, expression smoothing over as he turned to me. I stepped up to the desk, laying one hand on the counter leaning on my tippy-toes to see over the counter._

_"Do you have any books that are true?" I asked staring him in the eyes. He blinked again before a slow smile grew on his face._

_"Aye, we sell those books." At his smile I tentatively smiled back. I didn't see many genuine smiles. He reached around his neck and pulled out a key, before disappearing into the back. He came back out with an old leather bound book in hand and a newer paperback._

_"If you want the truth, this one will tell you." He waved the leather bound book in the air, "and this one will allow you to be told the truth." He waved the other. Setting down the books on the counter._

_"What is the charge?" I asked, looking at the books with longing._

_"For these books, there is but one price, little missy. They are secret books, and if they are found they will be destroyed and the truth in them will be lost like so much else. The price is to keep them, and this place, a secret. Can you pay this price?" She looked him in the eye before nodding solemnly._

_"I can keep this promise." _

_By the time we left, the only evidence I had been there were the two books in my bag, and a little handprint on the dusty counter of an old man's desk._

_Ealdread helped me to read the books, we studied them together. He taught me so much though, more than any of my teachers and parents combined. Basic things like how to be human, instead of Tenryuubito. How to love others. Even the basics of fighting. But I could only spend so much time with him without people figuring out what was going on. The rest was spent with my brother, or on the rare occasion, a high noble's child. _

_And then, a few years later, _it _happened and everything changed._

_Yes, _it.

_It?_

_The second event; Fisher Tiger storming of Mariejois._

_What was that? Oh, Fisher Tiger was a fishman who was a slave, who escaped, and then climbed the Red Line to free all the other slaves on Mariejois. Yes, the whole of the Red Line. He came in the dead of night and started to burn the houses to the ground, freeing all kinds of slaves not just the fishmen and mermaids. _

_Our mansion was closest to the edge of the Red Line, and had the best view might I add, so it was the first house he visited. I was awake for some reason that I can never remember, even to this day. I was walking around in the hallways, the only one awake, I think I was heading towards the dungeons, which was were the slaves slept when they had the time. Ealdread had been sent there instead of staying in my room like he normally did. I don't remember why. And that's when I ran into him. Literally. He scared me so much that I almost screamed, but by then I had learned that when one is sneaking around in the middle of the night, it's best not to make any sound, otherwise one will get in trouble. He just looked down at my twelve year old self menacingly for a moment before squatting down to my level. _

_"Hello little one, what are you doing awake?" _

_"Couldn't sleep. Ne… are you a fishman?"_

_"Yes." _

_"Oh, but you're not a slave? …You should probably leave then, before anyone else wakes up and they catch you."_

_"You're not going to turn me in?"_

_"No, why would I do that? You're free right? I don't want to take that away from you."_

_"What about the slaves here, would they like to be free?" At this question I hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly._

_"I think most would want to. Some I can't tell anymore, they look so dead." He nodded at me._

_"I could take them with me when I leave."_

_"Really? You would do that?" I was hesitant to believe him, I had seen the type before that claimed to have the slaves best interests at heart when in fact they only had their own._

_"Will you help me? You can come with me when we leave too." A look of surprise, quickly followed by sadness crossed my face for a second before it smoothed over again._

_"I'll help, but I don't think I can come with you."_

_"But don't you want to be free?"_

_"Oh, oh _yes! _That would be most wonderful._"

_"Then we should leave together."_

_"Not yet, I can't leave yet."_

_"But someday?"_

_"Yes." I looked him the eye with a face full of determination._

_"Alright, let's go free these people." At that moment I believed him, he had called the slaves people…_

* * *

_A break from the musings…_

Just as Kepi was going to continue the mansion door creaked open to reveal one heavily laden figure -Thatch.

"Kepi, there you are, we were beginning to wonder we… Holy, is that a toe!?" He shouted the last part pointing at my out-of-place fourth digit.

"Yes, it accidently got cut off when I was exploring, and I couldn't find it." Kepi sighed rubbing a hand down her face.

"Riiiiiiiight. What chopped it off again, and why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't want you to freak out, exactly like you are doing now." The ghost sat watching our exchane with amusement on his ghostly face. Thatch stared between us for a moment before loosing a long sigh.

"Fine, whatever, it's your toe I guess. On a less creepier note, we are about to head out. Do you need any help?" He said pointedly looking at the ghost.

"No, I was just about to leave."

"Alright come on." He standing like a prop to keep the door open for me to go through. With another sigh Kepi slowly levered herself up using the wall behind her, wincing slightly when she put pressure on her foot. The ghost just stared at her hard for a second before easing into a tight-lipped smile.

"Would you care for your toe back?"

"No, thank you. You can keep it, or throw it out or some such."

"That's a pretty careless attitude to have towards something that was a part of you."

"Sometimes, sacrificing something is the only way one is able to move forward. It also stands as a reminder of promises yet unfulfilled."

"As long as you remember." The ghost said with a hint of finality in his voice before turning around and disappearing completely, toe and all.

"What, was, _that! _You just gave him your toe! A _toe!" _Thatch practically screeched as Kepi walked past him out the door.

"It was just a toe, what was I going to do, reattach it?" She said shrugging nonchalantly before limping down the path towards the waiting crowd of crewmembers.

Thatch looked back to where the ghost had vanished.

"Who exactly are you Kepi Meriwether?" He closed the door with a resounding clang and ran after Kepi.

* * *

_Back on the Ship…._

"Look Pops! We scored big!" Ace shouted as he walked fast towards the ship loaded with jewelry. A crown that was a size too large kept falling down over one of his eyes which he constantly pushed up with fingers laden with huge rings.

"Gurarara. It would appear so my son. A fruitful expedition I take it?"

"Yeah, we found a lost city filled with _ghosts! _Ghosts, Pops. And they gave us all this gold and jewels for free!" Ace said, head tilted up to Moby Dick's deck, to the cheers of the crewmembers who had come over waving his fingers around for emphasis.

"Where are the others?"

"Hmm, they're somewhere behi… Ah." A rustling sound came from the bushes Ace had just appeared from. An annoyed face appeared out of the bushes, belonging to one Marco the Pheonix.

"Ace, you could have waited for the rest of us, yoi."

"Nah, then I wouldn't have been the first one to tell Pops."

"Vainglory." Kepi's muffled voice spoke up next as she walked out of the bushes followed closely by a hovering Thatch.

"What's that?" Ace said picking his nose with a jeweled finger. Kepi scrunched her nose at his behavior.

"It means 'an excessive display of something in order to draw attention to it.' Most _men _are this way." She spoke, her nose raising a little higher in the air, to the amused snickers from the crewmembers who didn't get it and exclamations from those who did.

"Some women are that way too." One of the crewmembers spoke up.

"Yes, well when we have excessive display of something, people actually appreciate it."

"Gurarara. We're going to leave soon. Take the treasure to the store room to be counted."

"Aye, Pops!"

* * *

_Dinner that Night…_

"So Kepi, how's your foot?"

"Fine, Thatch."

"Did you go to the infirmary?"

"No."

"You should do that before someone tells the nurses."

"And who would that someone be? Surely not you."

"Of course not, but maybe one of the people listening in on our conversation."

"What's this about an injury, yoi"

"_Nothing. _Jeez, you're worse than a mother hen."

"… That was absolutely unnecessary you know."

"Hahaha. Your first bird joke, I'm so proud!" Thatch wiped away fake tears to the unamused look on Marco's face.

"What's this about a bird joke?" Ace said walking over carrying a tray laden with food, followed by a large, hairy crewmember with missing teeth.

"Kepi made her first bird joke, it took her a little longer than most people, but she got there."

"Haha, good for you Kepi. Is there any room for two here? Me and Teach need a place to sit."

"Yeah, we'll make room." Thatch scooted closer to Kepi nudging her slightly so that she moved. Ace and the other man, Teach, sat down.

"I see your meal consists mainly of pie as usual Teach." Marco spoke up again getting over the joke rather quickly.

"Zehahaha. Of course, there's nothing that could beat a healthy meal of pie!" The large man boomed, taking a large bite of pie. He looked over Thatch to Kepi, "Name's Marshall D. Teach, I'm in the second division. Yer the girl that fell on board during that large storm right?" Kepi nodded slightly, edging a little away from the man. He made her nervous, probably just the smell. And his abhorrent diet.

"Yes, it is thanks to the kindness of your captain, the crew, and shear luck that I survived, you have my gratitude."

"Ah, we ain't done nuthin' anyone else wouldn't have done it."

"I'm sure… You said Marshall _D. _Teach, right? You have a D in your name, like Ace? I does that make you related." This last statement garnered the attention of the first and fourth division commanders who had been in a heated discussion about different foods.

"No, they're not related at least not closely related. Do you know of other D's, yoi?"

"Hmm, I've only met one other briefly. Monkey D. Garp, a very interesting man to be sure." When she said Garp's name she noticed Ace's face pale.

"Are you alright Ace?"

"Y.. yeah, just remembering unpleasant memories."

"Ace here is related to Garp." There was a momentary pause while Kepi absorbed this information.

"W.. wait a second. _You're _one of the grandkids he talks about? What was the other ones name… Luke? Lupi? No… Luffy!" Kepi blinked in amazement, so these were the "brats" that Garp always talked about.

"He talks about us? That idiot Jiji." Ace began to mutter. She stared at him for another moment before bursting into laughter.

"O.. oh my. My apologies, I've just heard so much about you and your brother. I see how it fits though. You poor child you." Ace scowled at her remark before pouting.

"He told me some of his training methods for you."

"He shouldn't be talking so much about us. Jeez, that idiot."

"He loves you very much."

"Che, that Jiji wouldn't know what love was until someone punched it into him."

"Similar to one of his Fists of Love?" Ace shuddered at that.

"Come on Kepi, tell us what you know about Ace's childhood." Thatch spoke up. Kepi smiled gleefully.

"Well, there was this one time…"

* * *

Alright, alright. I know it's been over a month, but I've been so busy (not!) that I had to put this off. It's been a really hectic month though. So standard question's, did you like it? What did you think about the little glimpse of her past? Should Thatch be made to wear a tutu? Etc.

Comments, concerns, questions?

More of her past will be revealed later on.

Again Comments are beloved.


	6. The Storm that Gathers

"Love? What is that? If it cannot be bought or sold. If it cannot be coerced or threatened from someone. If it must be given freely and without reservations, then a Tenryuubito cannot ever have it, for they are incapable of such things."

\- Kepi Meriwether, Addition to _Servitus, Libertas_

* * *

**The Storm that Gathers**

Thatch stood in front of Whitebeard regaling him with a tale of what happened during their impromptu trip to a deserted ghost city. Whitebeard could tell that something was bothering his son, he waited patiently for Thatch to reached a conclusion.

"Say, Pops, Kepi's a good girl isn't she?" Thatch glanced up from under his pompadour.

"Of course my son, almost everyone in the crew seems to love her."

"I.. I know that, it's just that I thought I figured out what noble family she's from. I went back through some news articles, and you know I don't normally I don't pry into people's pasts, however this worries me."

"Oh?" Thatch pulled out an old newspaper from somewhere holding it up to show Whitebeard. The paper was dated about a year ago and featured the photo of a woman. She was in one of the space suits that most of the Tenryuubito wore when they visited different islands. Her hair was pulled back into two rather odd looking buns that almost seemed like a double samurai's chonmage. And below that, her face was unmistakably the face of Kepi, though their Kepi had laugh lines and a small smile, this one had eyes as cold as the ice continent and a mouth that seemed drawn perpetually downwards.

"She's a Tenryuubito Pops. I don't mind that she is, though it did come as somewhat of a surprise to me, I just worry that the crew might find out and hurt her. We're a tolerant bunch, but the Tenryuubito have stepped on too many people and damaged too many lives to be welcomed here with open arms."

"I know my son, I know. We will keep this a secret for now. I will talk to Kepi, or Sophia, when she is fully healed, which should be any day now as long as she stays away from trouble."

"I understand. Thank you, Pops. I like Kepi, she would make a great little sister."

"I know my son, I know."

* * *

_Nurses Station at the Same Time…_

"It looks like you'll be fine in a few days."

"Yes? When can I change into my other form?"

"Hmmm, if you take it slow, and don't fly, you'll be able to go for short bursts of time as your devil fruit double. In fact, I would recommend that you change a little over the next few days to reacclimatize yourself."

"Alright, thank you very much. I appreciate it."

"No problem."

"So, I should probably go…"

"In a moment. I want to see your foot. I've heard rumors that you're now missing a toe?"

"Err, well you know what they say about rumors."

"Right, and what would that be?"

"You should not… spread them?"

"Are you asking or telling? Besides, I'll be able to tell if they are lying or not. Off with your sandals."

"Yes Ma'am." Kepi sighed, carefully taking off her sandal, baring her foot. The nurse looked it over, humming and hawing.

"This looks almost like it was electrocuted. I didn't think buildings that old had electricity."

"Hmm, some of them do." Kepi laughed, looking away. The nurse stared at her for a second, before shaking her head and dropping her foot carefully.

"Hmm, well, it was a good thing it was electrocuted, it stopped the blood flow and helped stop infection from setting in."

"Huh, I'll have to remember that. Now am I free to go?"

"One would think that you don't like the infirmary much."

"Haha, nothing like that, I assure you, I am simply anxious to change shape for a little bit. It feels like its been forever."

"Most fruit users are like that, don't push yourself too hard." She started to turn away but I stopped her with what I asked next.

"Ah, before I forget, one last question. Is there any place aboard that can generate electricity?"

"Hmm… I think there are a couple of generators beneath the kitchen, why?"

"I need some electricity, is it alright if I use one?" Kepi dodged the question, as well as the pointed look to her foot.

"Yes, though be careful not to blow a fuse. It's hard to find generators like those these days. Now, get out of here."

"Yes ma'am." Kepi gently hopped off the bed, minding both her foot and arm, before heading to the door. She pulled it open to come face to face with the sleeping form of Ace who was propped against the door. Letting out a squeak as the man slowly began to topple onto her, she braced herself. Only for him to wake up halfway through the fall with a startled exclamation. He lunged forward with his leading leg, and then lunged backwards, flailing his arms as he tipped backwards.

Kepi stood there breathing heavily for a second, eyes wide.

"What the Bellbottoms, was that." She hissed at him, clenching her good hand into a fist, "You could have _killed _me."

"Naw, I'm not _that_ heavy."

"Were you eavesdropping?"

"Hmm, nope." Kepi just glared at him.

"So, when are you going to show us what your devil-fruit power is?" He smirked. Kepi just glowered at him.

* * *

_Guest Room a Couple of Hours Later…_

Kepi had retreated to her room for a much deserved reading break after a couple hours of recharging and being followed around by Ace. Flipping a page, Kepi tried to focus on the words in front of her but failed miserably. For some reason she was uneasy and had been for the past few days. Ever since they had left Madread it felt like a storm was brewing. It was probably just her not really wanting to leave, because she _would_. She had to. Abruptly, she was thrown from her depressing musing when she heard a crash outside her bedroom door followed by Thatch yelling as he ran down the hallway.

"I didn't doooooo ittttttttt…" Followed quickly by Marco's enraged yell. Shaking her head and chuckling under her breath, she returned to her reading, hoping to not be drawn into their craziness. _Such strange people. I wish I could stay with them… _Quickly she snapped her book closed leaping from the bed. It was best not to dwell on such thoughts, or she might be tempted to stay. To just live free, without the weight of all those lives. To just forget… Shaking her head again she walked to the door with a slight limp, and went to find The Trouble Maker to take her mind off things.

_Up on the Deck…_

"Thatch. This is the last straw! You are going to go get a mop, and you are going to clean everything off the deck. NOW!" Marco yelled, face flushed a gentle red and his blond hair darkened and filthy with egg yolk. Thatch however was too busy laughing to pay attention; covering his mouth with his blue tinged hands he was trying - and failing - to stifle his laughter. Behind him, in a vibrant blue color, was the picture of giant blue flaming bird… which was nesting on three very pink eggs.

Kepi shaded her eyes as she stepped out on deck. Blinking away the intense light, she looked around the deck, taking in the scene. Seeing the crowd gathered on one side of the deck, she wandered over only to hear the tail end of Marco and Thatch's… discussion, which was beginning to turn into a fight.

"What happened this time?" She asked the nearest crewmember.

"Oh, the usual. Thatch did somethin' stupid. Looks like this one really ruffled Commander Marco. He's pretty defensive when it comes to the whole 'egg laying' jokes." He chuckled, waving in the general direction of the colorful drawings.

"Egg laying jokes are not _that_ funny, since it's impossible for a male bird to lay eggs." She replied studying the drawings with a critical eye, "Though, some species of birds will have the male stay and protect the nest, it's not uncommon to see. I wonder if he is angry because Thatch didn't correctly display the nesting ritual of birds?"

"No no, I don't think that's what has Commander Marco's beak in a twist."

"Then I don't understand why is he so angry?"

"Well you see, a few years ago Marco was pranked by Thatch into thinking that he actually did lay eggs. Kinda traumatized him. So now if anyone mentions egg laying, well… you can see for yerself."

"Interesting. I'm surprised no one has tried to make an egg laying joke to me yet."

"Err… well you see, your kinda a lady an' we wouldn't feel comfortable doin' something like that to ya." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I see. Oh well, I don't think I will lay eggs. Now that I think about that, I should probably check up on that. I wonder if the nurses will know."

"Ahhh… ahahaha… sure ya do that." Nodding she turned away, already deep in thought about bird facts.

A loud explosion sounded off to the side quickly followed by a splash so large that it rocked the Moby Dick. Staggering into a wall Kepi took a moment to gather her feet under her as she scanned the horizon, looking for the idiot that would attack the ship.

The hazy image of a pirate ship appeared off the port bow. She couldn't make out the flag, but whoever it was was probably an extremely weak and over confidant pirate, but then, all pirates were that way when compared to Whitebeard.

"Crow's nest, who are we dealing with, yoi!" Marco shouted up the mast.

"Don't know Commanda' can't see thur flag yet."

"Let me know when you do."

"Aye aye!"

"First division, thirteenth, you're on offensive. Everyone else is to go to their designated spots. Let's move people!" The collective "aye" resounded enthusiastically over the deck. Mass scrambling quickly followed as the crewmembers took up their stations. Just as Kepi went to follow the first division a hand clamped onto her shoulder, a hand that belonged to Marco.

"Kepi. You shouldn't stay up here. Go back to your room, we'll come get you when the fighting is over."

"Marco, I can fight." His sleepy eyes gazed into my own before shaking his head.

"No, this is a Whitebeard Pirate problem, we'll deal with it. Unless you want to join up, that is." Kepi's eyes widen. Marco smirked and reached over to ruffle her hair. Kepi pushed his hand away, glaring at him.

"Don't worry about us, a little pirate or two won't be a problem. Just sit back and relax."

"Fine. Can I stay out on deck though. I promise not to get in the way."

"Alright, but we won't be able to protect you."

"That's alright. I won't be able to protect you either, so be careful." Marco chuckled as he moved away.

"Oi, Commanda' Marco! I know who it is!"

"Tell us then."

"The Lonely Pirates."

"The Loony Pirates?"

"Lonely, commanda'."

"Are they any good?"

"Not really. Their main fighting technique is to send out slaves as the first wave. They're slavers, sir!" Marco gritted his teeth at this proclamation.

"We'll sink them to the bottom of the ocean, yoi! Don't hurt the slaves too much and capture the captain and crew." The collective aye was just as impressive as before; this time though, it was edged with bloodlust. Unknown to everyone, after hearing who was attacking, Kepi had slunk towards the front line. The Lonely's. She had been looking for them for almost six months now. They were the biggest slaver operation this side of the Red Line. They weren't getting away.

* * *

_The Battle…_

Kepi sidestepped a sword as it flew towards her, performing a neat roundhouse kick to its wielders stomach. Grunting slightly as she put pressure on her bandaged foot, she continued to slowly make her way to the enemy ship. Dulce's head was hers.

"Kepi, what the hell are you doing in this mess?" Marco shouted as she neared him. Dodging another swing, Kepi punched the face of the young woman wielding it. The woman was in chains, just like the other hundred odd fighters that had been sent out in the first wave. The actual pirate crew was still aboard the enemy ship.

"I'm going after the head of the captain." She shouted back as she jumped out of the way of a pistol user, bringing her arm up, swiftly and efficiently breaking their grip on the gun.

"We talked about this already, we're capturing him, yoi. You heard Pops!"

"I know we talked about it, I just did not listen. And it is a her, not a him."

"What?"

"Her, the captain is a woman!" Marco stopped for a second, casually backhanding an attacker away, glancing over at Kepi with a look of disbelief.

"A woma…" Kepi interrupted him, blocking a punch aimed at her stomach.

"It doesn't matter if it is a man or a woman, there's no reason for people to enslave a person. I mean to make sure that _she _cannot anymore!" Breathing heavily and straining against the enemy she was locked with, she used a little of her power to stun the man before smacking him down. Kepi wiped her brow before looking down and growling at her sling.

"This is just getting in the way!" Using her good hand, she ripped off the offending strap.

"Oi, the nurses didn't say you could do that!"

"It's fine!" To prove her point she flexed her fingers, stretching her hand out before balling it into a fist.

"No, it's _not _fine, yoi! We told you to stay out of it!"

"You wouldn't understand!" Kepi stopped fully turning to face Marco, ignoring the fighting going on around her for the moment.

"We do understand. We hate slavery, it's the exact opposite of what we as pirates stand for! We know that you're angry, we are too! We know that, for your own reasons, you're trying to stop slavery. But this, you don't have to do on your own!" Marco stopped as well, squaring off with her.

"Do you know how long that _temerator _has been sailing the seas using slaves as shields? Four years! Four. Do you know how many slaves she will have gone through in that amount of time? Hundreds! Thousands! You are asking me to stand back and let such a _teter _person continue on, when I have the means of stopping it?"

"I'm not asking you for that. I'm asking you to let _us, _yoi! You're not alone anymore! Let us take, even if it is just a little, the burden you carry. That is what family is for!" At his words Kepi took a sharp breath, eyes wide.

"Family?"

"Yes, yoi. You have been for a while now."

"Why… why would you want someone like _me _to be your family!? You don't even know me. You would hate me if you knew who I was!" She yelled back, tears gathering in her eyes. Marco dodged an attack, elbowing the attacker in the ribs, he began to move closer to her, his normally sleepy eyes hard.

"It doesn't matter, yoi! Family is family, even with the baggage! You don't think others here have pasts too? Don't be selfish!" She took a step forward, until they were butting heads. She looked up into Marco's eyes.

"You didn't even _ask_! Maybe I don't want to be a part of the family, did you ever think about that?! Who's being selfish now!" Kepi yelled red faced, hands waving wildly at the crewmembers around her.

"Like I said, family is family, yoi! Asking is just a formality!" Marco snarled back.

"Oi, you two, touching moment and all. Finish the later, fight now!" Thatch suddenly interrupted them brushing past the two, heading towards where the actual pirates were. It seems like the two of them had been… talking, the crew had subdued most of the slaves.

"Thatch? What are you doing, your division is supposed to be on food prep." Marco asked, stepping away from Kepi.

"I saw you two fighting in the middle of the fight. Someone had to protect you from getting hurt, idiots."

"You let one through."

"What kind of thanks is that? I let one through so you could realize you were still, I don't know, _in the middle of a fight. _No prob. You're welcome. That's what's family for, right?" At this, Thatch looked directly at Kepi with a smirk.

"Wahihihihihihi… Whitebeard, I'm here for your head! I think it will look pretty mounted on my cabin wall!" A high pitched voice carried over the water. The voice interrupting whatever Marco was going to say next. The beautiful woman stood poised with one foot on the railing of her massive ship. She had glorious red hair that fell in wavelets to the small of her back and she was wearing a form fitting tie-dye one piece swimsuit and red captains jacket with purple tassles.

"You may have subdued the slaves, but that is part of my plan, Wahihihihi!" She seemed like she was the kind of pirate that brags about what evil act she was going to commit; really cliché.

"I, the great, powerful, and most beautiful pirate, Dulce Mocha, will be the one to kill you! Go little pets, fulfill your purpose! Those enhanced collars have enough explosives to destroy half of the Moby Dick! so for the next thirty seconds, enjoy yourselves! Wahihihihi!" With that she pressed a button that was hanging from her neck. Groans of misery, of fear, and cries of sadness rose from the captured slaves. The sound washed over the Whitebeard Pirate's for a second as it took them a second for Dulce's words to register.

Their collars had began to blink. Kepi's eyes widened, there wouldn't be enough time for the crew to release all the slaves, even if they had the key.

"Shit, what do we do?!" A crewmember yelled. Marco bent over slightly, talking to Thatch.

"I'll take the captain, if you want to grab the button. We'll figure it out from there?" Marco said in a tight voice, he knew that they only had a slim margin of time to pull this off. Somehow Dulce heard them.

"Ah-ah-ahhhh, I wouldn't do that if I were you. I can just press this little button here and everything will go kaboom! I'm only giving them time to say their goodbyes. I am such a nice person! Wahihihi!" At this Kepi snorted, pushing him out of the way.

"Let me do it. We're family right? Think of this as an initiation. Besides, I know how to work the button." Marco hesitated for a second before nodding.

"You little… I told you, you can't do that! Now they have no time left, thanks to you!"

"Oh yeah? Who do you think is faster. You? Or us. Let's find out." With that Kepi transformed, legs growing longer, neck lengthening and feathers sprouting through her hair but stopped at that.

"Kwa kwa Boom Tube." She said before she disappeared. Only to reappear half a moment later next to the woman. A loud boom sounded behind her. The woman's eye's widened suddenly.

"You're…"

"You think you are so smart to use such tricks? They only make you appear weak. Please. Do us all a favor and shut up." Kepi spoke over her. Her hand reached out, snatching the button from the shocked woman. Reaching her unoccupied hand out, she rested it lightly on the woman's shoulder.

"Wha…" Was all Dulce had time to screech before she was shocked into oblivion.

Kepi reached down and pressed the small hidden mark on the side. Glancing over at the slaves, she noted to her satisfaction that all of the collars had stopped beeping. She looked at the rest of the Lonely crew. Raising the button into the air she stared them down, before crushing it in her hand.

"Anyone else?" They all shake their head, "Good."

Booming across to Marco, she handed him the destroyed button.

"Here you go… brother." She said walking away. Marco just stared at her for a second before smiling.

"What are you all looking at? Let's get these people on their feet and contain those idiots!" He snapped out an order turning around.

* * *

_Out on Deck to the Great Anticipation of the Crew: Bonus…_

"Come on Kepi, show us!"

"Yeah, go ahead an' show off!"

"Make it a good show!"

Kepi glared daggers at a couple of the crewmembers who had trailed after Ace. Her gaze shifted to the second division commander.

"I can't yet. You heard the nurses, no shifting till I'm healed completely."

"I heard the nurses. They said you could, as long as you take it easy. Plus you kind of already changed, so you can't use that as an excuse."

"Maybe I don't want to show you, maybe I want to keep it a secret."

"Ahh~~, stingy."

"Fine, whatever. I'll show you." Kepi replied, slowly taking her arm out of her sling flexing her hand slowly.

She started with her feet, transforming them into the long bent kneed talons. Then her arms began to change turning a deep purple that seemed almost black in spots. Her neck grew longer and longer, her face sprouting a bright yellow and wickedly curved beak as well as a patterned mottled blue, purple, and yellow feathers. Her chest feathers seemed to extend a little farther out than they should have, giving her an electric yellow crested look. Tail feathers grew, sprouting into the themed purple and yellow, flowing down onto the deck. Her eyes had taken on a yellow sheen of reflected light. She spread her impressive wings slowly, they were almost three times as tall as she was, carefully testing each one before preening the dappled yellow spots back into place. She stood almost as tall as the top of Whitebeard's seat. Finally, after a few minutes of preening, she seemed satisfied, looking at them expectantly.

Ohh's, and ahh's could be heard throughout the crew. Marco had come up and was circling around Kepi with a critical eye. Nodding slowly he finally walked in front facing her.

"You have been taking good care of your feathers, yoi." She looked at him before letting out a cry. It wasn't delicate, like the crew expected, no, it was deep and booming and seemed to vibrate the bones of those next to her. The crew stumbled back, looking at her with awe.

"What. Was. That!" Thatch exclaimed coming out on deck. Kepi swung her head to face him, opening her beak to give another cry. The crew all jumped forward.

"Don't!" Was the general consensus. She blinked looking down at them. Thatch, seeing Kepi, let out another exclamation of surprise, before running over to Kepi skipping around with cries of amazement.

"Are you going to go for a flight? Take Marco with you, he doesn't get out enough." Kepi shook her head at his question, already beginning to revert back to human.

"Can't. Nurse said I couldn't." She said to the great dismay of the crowd, "besides, you wouldn't want me to."

"Oh? Why's that?" Marco spoke up.

"Because when I fly I gather storms." This explanation was met with a general silence before everyone started speaking at once. Marco shushed the crowd with some difficulty.

"What do you mean, gather storms, yoi?"

"Hmm, it's just like it sounds. I'm a storm bird. I ate the tori tori no mi model: kwa kwa."

"So if you gather storms, how do you fly?"

"Oh, I can fly in storms very easily. There is nothing more exhilarating."

"I see. That's how you killed those giant flowers."

"Yes. I didn't know that they were connected though. I didn't want to kill them all."

"Wait a second, if you can fly through storms, why did you crash during one?"

"Oh, um. I was flying and a New World storm kind of… attached itself to the one I was riding, so that it grew so big and the rain so heavy, I lost my transformation." Kepi blushed slightly at her explanation, looking away in embarrassment.

"So your model is a Mythological type right?" Thatch asked, pushing his way through the crowd.

"Er, actually I'm not too sure, it could be a prehistoric type. The original name of the bird was the Kwakwaka'wakw. It was reviled by an ancient tribe as a great spirit of change and calamity. Having said that, it might be a mythological type because it has the properties of a logia with the shape of a zoan."

"I… see. Can you fly without calling storms?"

"I think, I just haven't given it a try before. I have never needed to. Plus this power is relatively new to me."

"Huh. When you heal, we'll see about getting you to fly without storms, yoi."

"Only if you ride a storm with me."

"Deal."

* * *

Th.. th. Th. That's all folks. For now.

I would just like you all to know that I didn't revise this chapter once. Or twice. But THREE FREAKING TIMES. I couldn't figure out what to do. Until one (very) uneventful day at work, when I thought to myself, hey this would be good.

The bonus was part of the original chapter revision, I didn't know if I should put it in or not, but I had written it and it was okay, so meh.

Also you might want to know what some of those lovely (latin) words thrown out here are.

Temerater - Defiler

Teter - sickening

Review _Please. _See people, I'm begging here. I want to know what you think. That's just the kind, compassionate, and caring kind of person I am. I also like to know if it's any good.


	7. The Storm that Stirs

Warning: Mild language

* * *

"Guy: A place not like today, or yesterday. A place where things are better.

Grug: Tomorrow isn't a place. It's-it's-it... Ugh! You can't see it!

Guy: Oh, yes, yes it is. I've seen it. That's where I'm going."

\- _The Croods_

* * *

**The Storm that Stirs**

It had been a week since the Lonely Incident, as some of the crewmembers had started to call it, and Kepi had semi-officially accepted the crew as her family.

"Wha…" Kepi's brow furled as she stared at her bed. Nestled on her pillow were three large, obnoxiously purple eggs with bright yellow polka-dots. Carefully picking one up she inspected it before smirking. Gently laying it next to the others she reached over to her small dresser and pulled out a sash that she had been given by Marco as a present. Quickly arranging it into a sling she wrapped it around her shoulder. Carefully she picked up the eggs and placed them in snuggly. She straightened her clothing a little bit, brushed her hands through her frizzy hair, and slipped on her sandals before walking out to greet the day with a smile on her face.

* * *

_Out on Deck…_

Striding out onto the deck she made her way towards Whitebeard's throne. She limped slightly, still healing from her run in with the ghosts, up to the great chair where she and Whitebeard in shared a smile.

"Good morning." He looked down at her. Taking a swig of his sake, he returned her greeting.

"Good morning, brat." Her smile brightened just a little more. He glanced down at her sling for a moment. She shifted aside the folds to show the brightly painted eggs. He blinked once before letting out one of his booming laughs. He reached down and patted her on the head with one of his giant fingers, ruffling her hair into even more of a mess.

"Teaching Thatch a lesson?" he asked in his heavy drawl.

"That is a good assumption… Captain." At her silent question she shyly peeked at him out of the from beneath her lashes, asking him if it was okay. Pausing for only a moment he threw his head back.

"Gurarara, about time someone got him back, good luck." She beamed up at him with the what felt like the widest smile she had worn.

"Aye, aye!" She saluted him and he waved her on. Making a beeline towards the dining hall, her smile turned wicked; she couldn't wait until Thatch saw her.

Whitebeard stared at her retreating back. _Was it actually possible…. _Shaking his head he returned to sipping his drink. _It didn't matter._

* * *

_In the Mess Hall to the Bemusement of the Crew (Well, except for Thatch)…_

"Oi, oi, oi, Kepi! You do know that those won't hatch right?" Thatch started his third attempt at trying to tell her that the eggs in the harness weren't… viable. When she had come in with the sling, sitting across from him, Thatch hadn't known how to react and could only gape at her before stutteringly trying to explain that nature just didn't work that way.

Thatch, Kepi, and a couple of the other commanders and crew members were the only ones scattered around the mess hall. Every single eye was turned towards the awkward pair. Sighing, Kepi turned towards him.

"Yes, Thatch, they will. Honestly, I will not be _that _bad of a mother. You don't think that _do you_?" Kepi stared hard at him, daring him to say yes.

"Er, that's not what I meant, it's just, well, you know…"

"No, Thatch, I _don't _know. Please. Enlighten me." Turning fully she faced Thatch, watching as his face got a shade redder.

"Well… has anyone ever explained to you about the, erm, birdsandthebees?!" Thatch mangled the last part, speaking it too fast in his embarrassment.

"The what?"

"Ahem. The birds and the bees?"

"What do bees have to do with anything?" Kepi asked with a straight face, before taking a bite of the scrambled eggs laying on her tray. Thatch stared at her for a second before his face grew really pale as he tried to figure out if she was joking, apparently he didn't think she was because he frantically began to look around at the others in the room. All of whom decided that at that moment something else was much more interesting. Haruta got into a conversation about gum and its amazing properties and flavors with one of the crewmates in her division. Izou pulled out a compact mirror and started to mess with his hair. The crewmembers returned to their various conversations. Sighing, Thatch dropped his head in his hands, peeking up at Kepi through his fingers.

"Go ask Marco." He said with a defeated sigh, covering his eyes again at the serious expression on her face.

"Leave me out of this, yoi." Came a sudden voice behind Kepi. Marco was standing there holding a tray of food and giving Thatch a thoroughly unimpressed look. It looked almost exactly like his normal expression, just a little bit… squintier, as far as Kepi could tell. Turning back to Thatch Kepi smirked at him, reaching for her glass of water.

"So, what were you going to tell me about the birds and the bees Thatch?" She felt Marco jerk slightly as he was climbing into the seat next to her, causing her to spill her drink a little. She frowned slightly at Marco before returning her attention to Thatch causing the smirk to come back and widen just a little bit more.

"You.. you… I'll tell you when you're older." Thatch tried desperately.

"I'm 22. I think I'm plenty old enough."

"Nope, not for this! You have to be at least… at least 26! Yep, 26. You're still a brat right now." Kepi just stared at him.

"Did you just call me a brat?" She asked in a low voice. Thatch gulped and went to explain when he was saved by a benevolent feeling Marco.

"Sparks, why exactly are you carrying eggs around with you, yoi?" Marco asked peering into the sling.

"I found these little babies laying on my bed when I woke up. I must have laid them in my sleep; I didn't realize that when you became a tori tori no mi user you would lay eggs. It came as quite a surprise."

"Hmm, well your eggs are running, yoi." Kepi blinked at him furrowing her brow before looking down at the eggs. Gently pulling one out she noticed the paint running where she had accidently spilled her water on them. Gasping she jumped out of her seat, accidently hitting the food in Marco's hand out and bumping the table so that some of Thatch's food fell onto his lap. A hush fell over the mess hall.

Kepi stared down at the egg before her eyes began to mist over and she gave a little sniffle. The crew realized, to their horror, that Kepi was about to cry.

"Th… Thatch," Kepi sniffed eyes brimming with tears.

"Ye.. yes!" Thatch jumped out of his seat as well, food falling off of his lap.

"You.. your r.. really good with p… pranks, right?"

"Ye.. yes!" Thatch stared at her with a look of growing dread.

"I.. I want you to f… find the person who did this to me, and _make them pay!" _Kepi cried that last part, bursting into tears as she crumpled back down onto the bench.

"Ye… yes!" Thatch cried, saluting her. Before climbing completely out from between the bench and through the doors into the hallway.

"Oi, Sparks. You okay?" One of the crew members she had become friends with came over looking worried. Kepi fell silent for a moment before her shoulders began to shake. The crewmember hovered for a second before he realized what she was doing. She was laughing. Kepi leaned back in her seat laughing hysterically, tears running down her face, all the while trying to hide it behind one of her hands.

"Did… did you see that? His face! Oh, goodness, so this is what it feels like to prank someone. I should have done this ages ago." Chortling to herself Kepi looked around at the stunned faces. Her eyes caught Marco's, who began to grin along with her. Suddenly the room was filled with laughter. Kepi's smile widened as she laughed along with the crew. It felt nice. Now, if only she could stay. Quickly she turned her thoughts elsewhere, wondering why she has thinking along these lines. Even though they accepted her as part of the family, she knew from the very start she wouldn't be able to stay. She had made the decision. No need to torture herself over something that isn't possible. She had to enjoy it while it lasts.

* * *

_A Few Nautical Miles From the Moby Dick…._

"Sir! Confirmed sighting on board the Moby Dick. Target is believed to be held captive." Coby saluted the man in front of him, the much feared and respected marine vice-admiral; Garp the Fist.

"Bwahaha. Good! She's been missing for over a year now and the other Tenryuubito are throwing a fit over us not finding her. I haven't seen Whitebeard in years. Bwahaha!"

Garp stared out at the massive ship in the distance. It wasn't like Whitebeard to capture and hold prisoners like this. There was something else going on. Shrugging he took out one of his rice cakes, taking a bite.

* * *

_Back on the Peaceful, Unaware Moby Dick…_

"Maaarrrrcooooo~~~"

"What, yoi."

"I don't know what I'm going to do! Kepi's going to hate me forever."

"Not my problem. Lie in the grave you dug, yoi."

"Don't say that, I'm too young to die!" Thatch pouted. He had climbed to the crow's nest when it was Marco's turn for look out duty.

"You only have one option, yoi. Man up and - "

"- just blame it on one of the other crewmembers. Got it, thanks Marco! By the way is that a ship out there?" Thatch leaned across the railing, shading his eyes to look at a dark spot on the horizon.

"Don't change the subject, yoi."

"I'm not! Seriously bird brain, look." Glaring at Thatch, Marco turned his head to look out to where Thatch was pointing. Squinting a little he could see the outline of a ship that was rapidly approaching.

"Guess you weren't trying to dodge the question. Two ships in a week, that must be a record."

"Must be. I'll go tell Pops."

"Alright, yoi. I'll fly a little bit closer and see who it is." Thatch nodded before he started to climb over the railing, suddenly he stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Hey, Marco." Marco looked at him, scrunching his brows together. Thatch looked at him gravely.

"Be safe." Before Marco could respond, Thatch jumped off the crow's nest, to the waiting deck below. Shaking his head, The Phoenix took a flying leap, transforming as he went.

* * *

_Pop's Chair, with a Contemplative Thatch…_

"Pop's, Marco saw a ship on the horizon." Whitebeard glanced down at Thatch, taking a sip of his drink.

"Oh? Is that where he flew off to?"

"Yep…. Hey Pop's, how do I tell Kepi that I was the one who pranked her, without her hating my guts."

"I don't know son. I've never been in a situation like that. They have a saying you know - you lay in the grave you dug - something or other." Thatch pouted again.

"You and Marco are too alike. He said the exact same thing."

"Then it must be sound advice. Here comes Marco." Thatch turned as Whitebeard looked up at the rapidly approaching streak of blue.

"Report."

"It's vice-admiral Garps ship, Pop's. I don't think they want to attack, I flew close enough that they could try but they didn't do anything. What should we do?"

"Hmmm. I haven't seen Garp in a long time. Let's meet with them - "

"NO! That would be the worst possible decision, EVER!" Came a panicked yell from near them on the deck.

"Don't invite that crazy old man on deck. That's like inviting the end times, and Armageddon, and doomsday, and the end of the world over for a drink. Bad idea!" Ace finally showed himself, practically throwing himself at Whitebeard in an attempt to make him stop.

"Gurarara, what makes you say that, brat?"

"He's my grandfather! I bet he's just coming over to give me grief about not becoming a marine!" Silence met his explanation before the Moby Dick was in an uproar.

"Gurarara, all the more reason to invite him over."

"Nooooooo," Ace moaned, slumping his shoulders, "he'll destroy things, and wreck things, and throw things, and then fall asleep, then punch me, then fall asleep again, and then _eat. _You have no idea how much he eats!"

"He can't be worse than you, yoi." Marco commented as he turned to get the ship prepared, ordering the slightly dazed crew to do their jobs.

"He is, he so is." Ace moaned into thin air.

* * *

_About Thirty Minutes Later, Give or Take…_

"Bwahaha. Come on brat's, we're going to go see Whitebeard."

"Sir, we're going onto a pirate ship. Not just any pirate ship but _the _pirate ship. _Please _try and not break anything, I don't want to be eviscerated because you couldn't walk through doors like a normal person."

"Bwahaha, you worry too much, Coby."

"I don't worry enough, especially for being your subordinate." Coby mumbled back.

"What was that?"

"Nothing sir! I'll go get Helmeppo-san." Coby straightened up and saluted before turning on his heel and trotting away.

"Bwahaha. Cheeky brat." Moments later Coby reappeared dragging a crying Helmeppo at his side.

"I knew this was going to happen! Coby! How could you betray me like this, aren't we supposed to be friends. I don't want to go on that ship and die! Please! I still have a long life to live!"

"Sorry Helmeppo. We have to make sure that Garp-san doesn't get himself killed." All he got in reply was more sniffling.

For the past half hour their ship had been steadily catching up on the Moby Dick, ever since Marco the Phoenix had flown right over them. They had just pulled up in reach of the other ship and were preparing themselves before they met the strongest man in the world.

"Alright, let's go!"

"Yes, sir!" Coby and a crying Helmeppo saluted.

* * *

_The Moby Dick, Mere Seconds Later… _

The crew were waiting nervously on deck, with as many people piled as high as possible to get a good look at the famed Marine vice-admiral. All eyes were locked onto the side of the ship where the marine ship had pulled up, so no one missed the sudden figure of a tall imposing man topped with gray hair and a dog hat. What did come as a surprise were the two slender figures that followed him. The shorter of the two young men had bright pick hair pulled back by a green, flower patterned bandana. The other had a long bob cut with visors and twin kukri. The blond seemed to be in a bad mood while the pink haired one seemed both curious and nervous, looking around in amazement at the crew and the ship.

The sudden movement of Garp stepping off of the railing pulled attention away from the extra figures. The entire crew bristled. Garp kept walking straight, not looking at the crew as they separated to let him and his crewmembers pass, before closing the gap behind them effectively cutting off escape. This made the blond haired kid nervous. Seeing his fingers twitch towards his weapons caused some of the nearby pirates to smirk and edge closer. The pink haired one stopped the kukri wielder with a look and a slightly nervous shake of his head, speeding up so that they were on Garps heels. By this time they had reached Whitebeard's chair, Garp stood in the front flanked on both sides by his protégé.

"Garp."

"Whitebeard."

"What do you want."

"Ah," Garp started to pick his nose, "I came to see my grandson." This drew a reaction from his crewmembers who stared at each other in confusion before fixing their gaze on Garp.

"Oh? And who might that be?"

"As you well know, the brat, Ace!" At that, Garp whirled around and stared at a spot out in the crowd before disappearing in a flash, only to reappear right in front of the hiding Ace. Swiftly he brought his fist up and punched Ace straight on the top of the head.

"Ow! Shitty old geezer! What the hell would you do that for!"

"You're supposed to greet your grandfather when he comes for a visit! I want to feel loved by my grandchildren!"

"Like hell I will, crazy old geezer! I ran away from you in the first place!"

"I know! I raised you to be a strong marine, but you ran off and became a pirate!"

"I always was going to be a pirate, no way in hell am I going to be a marine!"

"Not only did you run away, but you dragged Luffy into it too!"

"Luffy!? He made it out! That's great. I can't wait to see his bounty poster."

"Not great! Geeze what am I going to do with you two brats."

"Ahem. Mind letting Ace go, yoi? We kind of like him, and he's stupid enough as it is without you causing him more brain damage." Marco called out from Whitebeard's side.

"Thanks Marco, glad I can always count on you." Ace mumbled sarcastically, throwing wary glances at his grandfather.

"You're welcome, yoi." Setting Ace down, Garp kept his hold on Aces shoulder as he directed him back towards Whitebeard.

"Coby. Helmeppo."

"Sir!" The two straightened up and saluted their captain.

"This is Ace, he's Luffy's older brother." This caused the two to start and share a glance.

"S - sir?"

"I've heard you talk about Luffy sometimes, that brat."

"Sir!" Their expressions turned worried, wondering if they were going to get in trouble.

"You can talk to Ace, while I have a chat with Whitebeard. That means the rest of you brats, get lost!" Garp whirled around, throwing one of his fists in the air, to glare out at the crowd of pirates, all of whom bristled at being told what to do by a marine.

"Garp. Don't order my crew around. Brat's! Go back to work." With many worried looks at Whitebeard, and heated glares at Garp, the crew dispersed.

"Coby was it? Come on, let's go over there so you can tell me about Luffy. You come to Thatch!"

"Y - yes!" Coby stared nervously at the imposing figures of the two commanders.

* * *

I know, I know. It's been, like, forever. Well, whatever, I have _School. _College to be precise and I have a butt-ton of stuff I have to do so meh :P.

Anyways, how did you like this chapter? I debated on continuing it, but I decided to just get it out there and done with. In this chapter I really wanted to show some of Kepi's character growth, I also did some foreshadowing if you caught it. Reviews are _ALWAYS _welcome.

I also have to ask. Are my jokes funny? I mean, I think they are, but obviously some people will be like, I don't get it! Also, do you guys like the quotes? DO you think they match? Huh, huh, huh!?

Also, I'm just going to say this now, the end is near! Which is both a yay and nay feeling. I already have the ending planned, it just needs to come to fruition.

Anyways, till next time, please RR!


	8. Extra: The Storm that Chuckles

**The Storm that Chuckles: Omake/Extra**

"So, what do you guys do for Halloween?"

"Halloween? Oh, you mean Hello-Scream right?"

"What?" Kepi stopped in the middle of swabbing Moby Dicks deck to stare over at Izo as he leaned against the railing staring at his nails. Kepi held her mop loosely in her hand as she contemplated what Izo had said.

"What's Hello-Scream?" Izo looked up at her question.

"Sorry, forgot that you didn't know. It's something our crew does every year on Halloween. All of the commanders draw slots for another division and whatever division they get they have to dress up as." Kepi stared at Izo with a look of bewilderment on her face, completely forgetting that she was supposed to be cleaning.

"Alright?" She prompted Izo tentatively.

"Then we crash a marine base by trick-or-treating. When we get to the door and say hello the marines always scream. We've had to switch it up in the past few years because the marine bases in our territory have all gotten hit. We travel to Shanks territory now, it's fun to push his buttons."

"I… see. Sounds interesting." Smirking, Izo looked over at Kepi.

"Very much so." Kepi chuckled.

* * *

Happy Halloween! (and to those that Halloween is already over, sorry)

This was just a little extra for fun, the next chapter is in the works, I should have it done sometime this next month.

Check out the other story that I posted called Ace Wants You to Know, it's full of feels.

R&amp;R/!


	9. Happy Spanskgiving

**HAPPY SPANKSGIVING!**

The resounding sound of a smack carried across the deck, startling many of the crewmembers from their assigned tasks. They looked up to see a very peculiar sign, one that had them all taking a step back.

Kepi was standing there in a state of shock, holding the papers she was going to hand to one of the commanders. Marco was walking past her with a smirk on his face, turning his head slightly he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Happy Spanksgiving." He turned and sauntered away. Staring after him took Kepi a full minute to come to grips with what had just happened.

"W…w-What the _hell_ just happened? Did he just _spank _me?" Kepi shrieked turning her disbelief onto the crowd. They quickly looked away or pretended to be busy with their work. Slowly tearing her gaze away from the unresponsive crew she slowly shook her head before walking away.

Kepi had forgotten (blocked) what had happened until later that day when she was helping clean up the infirmary. She was quietly scrubbing down the pans, stripping the beds of their sheets, and basking in the quiet peace that wasn't found anywhere else on board the ever-busy ship. The peace was broken when the door creaked open and Ace peaked his head around the corner, scanning the room before seeing her and splitting his face with a brilliant smile. Straightening she looked over at him quizzically.

"Ace?" Without responding he pushed the rest of the way into the room, making a beeline for her, smile still on his face. Feeling suddenly nervous, Kepi shifted on her feet, bringing the sheet from the bed she was changing up between them. This was completely ineffective when Ace simply skipped around it, and her, before smacking her butt.

"Happy Spanksgiving!" He called before skipping out of the infirmary.

Kepi stood in a frozen state for a few minutes before shakily getting up and leaving.

_These people are crazy._

The third time it happened, it came from a person that Kepi least expected it from. Jozu. The silent bear of a man simply walked passed her and with a very put upon sigh, lightly smacked her.

Izo was next, than Thatch, followed one by one all of the other commanders. With each one, Kepi grew more and more paranoid, taking to sneaking around deck, trying to avoid them. She quickly learned that there really wasn't anyplace safe from them.

Finally having enough after being smacked (yet again) Kepi burst into Whitebeards room, tears of frustration and mortification in her eyes.

"What the _hell _is wrong with you people! I don't understand what you're doing, so please, please, _please, make them stop_!"

"Gurarara!" Whitebeard just throws his head back and laughs.

"Don't just laugh!"

"Ah. I'll talk to them. They should have warned you. It's Spanksgiving, where everyone gives someone a spank. I believe it was Thatch's idea." Kepi paused for a second, wiping her eyes and straightening her clothes.

"Then me and _Thatch_ are going to have words. Lots and lots of words."

"Gurara. Don't break him too much, I'm going to be sending him out on a mission soon."

"Aye, aye, captain."

"Gurarara, cheeky brat."

And that's it. Yes, I know you all want to kill me because it's been forever, but I have school so meh. I have the next chapter started, but it will be a little while before I can get it out to you guys. Sorry this is late too by the way

Happy Spanksgiving!


	10. The Storm that Pours

"Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure."

\- Paulo Coelho

* * *

**The Storm that Pours**

"So, Coby is it? What was the shitty gramps talking about when he said you know Luffy?" Ace said walking with his arm slung around the shoulders of a very nervous ensign.

"U - um, well, Luffy-san helped me become a marine a while back when I was stuck in a bad place."

"Oh? That's weird, why would a pirate help someone become a marine?" Thatch piped up from the other side of Helmeppo, leaning around him to look at the kid.

"Haha, that's just Luffy Thatch, I should tell you about the time me an' Sa…." Ace suddenly coughed, "Me and Luffy fought these people in the dump because they were picking on this baby tiger, even though we had beef the tigers parent. I only helped because Luffy wanted to save it and he would have died without me. Luffy's a good kid."

"Totally unlike you Ace." Thatch laughed. Throwing his own arm over the grumpy looking blonde boy, who shrugged it off with a glare, which Thatch just smile genially at before turning to Coby.

"Name's Thatch! Fourth division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."

"C-Coby sir. Newly appointed ensign to vice-admiral Garp the Fist." Coby straightened before bowing.

"Coby, don't make nice with them, their _pirates." _

"I know, but Ace-san is Luffy-san's older brother, he has to be a good guy."

"Hmph, that brat was nothing but trouble."

"Ha, that just means you were the bad guy. Luffy doesn't beat people up for no reason. And not liking someone is a reason."

"Hmph."

"So, give us the whole story, brat!"

"I'm not a brat!"

* * *

_Somewhere on the Moby Dick…_

Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap. Screwed, she was _soooo_ very screwed. She had messed up, she wasn't supposed to be on the ship long enough for the marine's to catch wind of where she was at, but now, now it's too late. All she could do was hide and hope they weren't willing to make a fuss about getting her back. Knowing Garp though… she was _soooo_ very screwed.

* * *

_Again, Somewhere on the Moby Dick Sometime Later…_

"Seriously! An _hour!_ What do they have to talk about for an _hour! _I have to pee!" Kepi whispered to herself as she skulked around one of the many holds on the Moby Dick. After about 30 minutes into Whitebeard's and Garp's talk Kepi had relocated from the dining hall, which was much too conspicuous, to the lower holds. She tried to stay out of everyone's sight, just incase Garp started to look for her, which of course he hadn't. She was almost tempted to go back up on deck, consequences be damned. So on this impulse she strode towards the door, only to reel back clutching her nose when the door suddenly swung open, hitting her in the face. Izo stood in the doorway staring at Kepi as she held her nose.

"What are you doing in here?" Izo's deep voice asked after a moment.

"Leaving." Came the muffled and nasally reply.

"Ah, well. Pop's is looking for you."

"Oh. I see. Well, see you." Kepi replied looking somewhat more pale than before. Izo gave her a strange look before moving into the storage room.

Kepi shut the door and began to walk away, debating with herself on whether or not she wanted to just leave or face the inevitable. This may be one of the hardest decisions to choose but she wasn't a coward. If she ran from this what else would she run from? Her dreams? No, she had to face this.

* * *

_Even Later in Whitebeard's Cabin…_

A quiet knocking sounded on Whitebeards door causing the conversation between the two men to stop.

"Come in." Kepi slowly swung the door open, shoulders hunched inwards, taking in the picture of Garp and Whitebeard sitting down and drinking sake together peacefully.

"Er, I was told that you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, come in." Kepi slowly walked into the room eyeing both men and unconsciously looking like she was ready to bolt.

"So, Sophia, where have you been for the past half hour?" Kepi froze up completely staring at Whitebeard with wide eyes.

"So- Sophia? Who's that? Hahaha…." She said after a few seconds, rubbing the back of her head and laughing nervously, trying to play her slip up off.

"Sit." She sat.

"Now, start from the beginning." Kepi searched Whitebeards eyes for a second before slowly sinking to the ground next to Garp, who was also looking at her with interest.

"I guess I should start at the beginning then. I was born a beautiful, chubby little baby…"

* * *

_The Figments of Kepi's Memories (see previous chapter for the first part)…_

_"… Alright, let's go free these people." At that moment I believed him, he had called the slaves people. _

_We walked together towards the basement constantly vigilant for the guards that roamed the halls. I took the lead after a minute when I had corrected Tiger for the third time. It wasn't that long of a walk, but it had felt like forever because of the quiet and the sneaking. They reached the basement door within a few minutes and quickly descended the stairs._

_I had never been to the 'slave pens' as I had heard them called. Every time I asked to go with Ealdread he had firmly told me no. Now I knew why. My first impression was that it was cold. The floors, the walls, and even the ceiling were all made of stone. Staring around for a second, I was startled from my thoughts by Fisher's webbed hand on my shoulder. _

_"Which way next?" His quiet voice carried through the gloom. Turning slightly to look over my shoulder I simply shrugged._

_"I've never been down this far. Ealdread wouldn't let me."_

_"Ealdread?"_

_"He's the person that takes care of me."_

_"Ah, well I can finish this by myself. It's best if you went back to bed." At this I pursed my lips and tilted my face up a little bit more, silently refusing._

_"Fine," Fisher sighed, "You have to stay quiet though." I just looked at him - I was young, not stupid._

_We made our way down the winding steps, through damp corridors, and past suspiciously stained rooms. Finally, in what seemed liked forever, we found them. They were huddled three to a person on narrow pads filled with a meager amount of musty straw. Some of the figures were shivering, others were laying deathly still. It was horrible enough to make me start to cry; even at that age I knew that how they were living was wrong. I had never seen slaves all together before, only in by themselves or in pairs, rarely anything more than that. Now I saw what I missed, they were filthy, covered in more dirt than anything I'd ever seen. I slept in a bed so big, it could have fit at least ten people on it. These people were forced into this place, where it would have been incredibly easy to make them more comfortable, while I lived in the lap of luxury. My silk pajamas, their rotting clothes. My warm feather down blankets, them with nothing. This was were the only father figure I had slept._

_Tears poured down my face as I stared down at what Ealdread had tried to protect me from. I didn't really know why he had, since he had been trying from the moment he had met me to change my mind about slaves and how they were treated, and this would have been a quick way to do that. Maybe he hadn't thought me ready or even able to comprehend this overwhelming differences between people who were free and those who are not. It was so wide and so dark, like a gaping hole had opened up beneath me, swallowing me up in its gloomy depths, that it caused me to physically sway. Fisher steadied me with a casual hand on my shoulder, grounding me in the present. Shaking my head I followed him down the short flight of stairs to where the slaves were. Some of them noticed Fisher and looked up curiously. Even here, it wasn't often that a person saw a fishman, and they never saw one without chains, not in this place. Most of the people though seemed to not care about his presence. Ealdread was there in the corner, curled up on his side, asleep. After realizing who I was, one of the other slaves rolled over on their bunk and shook him awake, knowing that if I was in the dungeons, it would be for him. He startled awake and flailed a second before he oriented himself to where he was. Seeing the slave that woke up pointing, he followed the line of sight to where I stood, tears streaming down my face. Looking confused he stood up, shuffling forward and up to the stairs where I stood._

_"Princess? What are you doing here?" I stared at him for a second before scrubbing my eyes and lifting my arms up in a silent command to pick me up. Staring at Fisher Tiger out of the corner of his eyes he bent slowly and scooped me up. _

_"Where are the guards?" I asked quietly, trying to make sure that my voice didn't cover the distance between our little group and the rest of the slaves. Looking at me, then at Tiger searchingly, he seemed to come to some understanding since he simply turned and walked away holding me in his arms._

_Finding the guards room was easy, and it was even easier to obtain the keys since the single guard on duty was asleep. We crept in then out, handing the keys over to Fisher Tiger. He nodded silently offering to unlock Ealdread's collar, however after a moment of conflict reflected in tired old eyes weighted by years of needless cruelty, he was refused. _

_"No thank you. There is little enough time for what you are about to attempt without this old man to slow you down. Besides, if I don't stay, who will teach this little one to be human instead of a little Dragon?" Tiger stared him in the eyes for a second before nodding silently._

_"Do you know if they keep other slaves here?"_

_"Yes. Once you get past this room take the second right a left and you will find them down a short case of stairs. May the D's lend you aid." Looking a little confused, but nodding his thanks none-the-less, Tiger turned and melted into the darkness._

_"You should have gone with him. You would have been free, and - and I might have been able to go with you and we could have done stuff, like you could teach me how to fight, or fish, or…"_

_"It's alright. I have found my peace in living here. Besides I couldn't leave you here all on your own and I wouldn't have been able to take you with me." I began to sniffle, leaning into his hold shaking, terrified that in that moment he could have just left me. My pillar, my moral strength, my family. He could have disappeared and never returned. But I knew what he had given up to stay with me. Freedom, peace, humanity. After a few minutes he quietly set me down. _

_"You have to return to your room, don't say anything about what happened here this night. Quickly and quietly. Hide in your room, and don't answer your door for anyone. There are going to be a lot of slaves set free this night that will only think of vengeance and will only see you as a Dragon." Nodding my understanding I looked at him one last time before turning around and trudging my way down the hall._

_I waited alone in my room, burrowed deep in the huge toy box that was filled to the brim with stuffed animals. On multiple occasions slaves had wandered into my room crooning softly wanting to make me suffer as they had suffered, only to be frustrated that they couldn't find me. Luckily not many came, since I had never been needlessly cruel to the slaves here. Many had come from the neighboring mansions and only knew that I was a Tenryuubito, which was the only reason that they needed. I heard screaming, gunshots, and a fire roaring in the distance, causing me to curl tighter in a ball. It wasn't until later the next day when I felt safe enough to come out of the toy box, much to the surprise of the guards who were looking for me. It turns out only our mansion was relatively untouched, at least compared to some of the others. I wasn't told anything, and if I didn't have previous knowledge of what was going on I would have been woefully confused and scared. I simply felt calm and sat there attempting to look like I was playing normally for a while before giving up the pretense and asking for Ealdread. The guards who stood at the door finally replied._

_"Sorry Princess Sophia, but that slave was put to death this morning, we'll look for another slave for you to play with in the meantime." I stared numbly up at him for a second before I burst into tears, falling to the floor. My wails began to rise, cresting at a deafening pitch that caused the guards to flinch and flounder. They weren't allowed to touch me, so they couldn't offer bodily comfort, and nothing they said caused me to calm down. I sat there and cried in the doorway until my throat gave out and I could only croak. Then my tears dried up, leaving me with no way to expel my grief. I was young, so, so young. I didn't understand the raw pain that I was feeling, which was worse than the time I slipped down the stairs and broke my leg. It was worse than when I had found a sword a guard had left lying around and was play fighting with it until I accidently fell onto the blade. No, this pain went so deep that I almost didn't recognize the wound, I had never had it explained to me before, none that I knew had ever experienced it. Heart break, something that I had only heard about in stories and songs. Ealdread, the only father figure in my life, the man who showed me how to climb a tree to reach the juiciest apples, the man who showed me the basics of self defense, the man who held me when I cried when even my own parents wouldn't._

_Ealdread who had stayed behind to ensure that there was someone here for me, Ealdread who gave up his chance at freedom for death at my parents petty hands. Ealdread my friend, my teacher, my moral rock, my father. Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead. The chant ran through her head. I hadn't even been able to say goodbye, hadn't even known when he died. I was safely tucked away in my toys while the one person in the world I cared about was ripped away from me. My screams echoed down the hallways, bouncing off walls, winding their way deep into the pits of this soulless house._

_It took me a month before I was able to get over my guilt enough to realize that unless I was careful I would fall back into the patterns my childhood had been shaped from before I met Ealdread. So I began to plan, trying to find ways to be different from the other Tenryuubito's, but still appear to be the same. I made a game out of it - how could I outsmart my parents and guards. And so for some twelve odd years, I bettered myself, using the foundation that Ealdread had sacrificed his life for. He had wanted to change what was. He didn't leave me because if he had he would have never seen me again, and the only way to keep seeing me was to continue as a slave. So the simplest solution to me was to take away the thing that trapped him. Take away slavery, so that in the future slavery wouldn't trap any others that I love._

* * *

"When I set my plan in motion, I was expecting to have a few years to plan and prepare for the perfect escape, so that I disappeared, making it look as if someone had snuck in a stolen me away from my room. What I hadn't planned on my parents having me engaged to that horrible, disgusting, brutish man at 20 years of age, and so I escalated my plans so much so that I thought for sure that I would be caught, or that my evidence wouldn't be sufficient. I only heard about the Kwa Kwa fruit at the last moment, from my brother, who was bragging about how only our family had such a treasure. It was to be my dowry to the family of my fiancé. I thought it poetic justice that I take it. All this led me to destroying slave houses one after the other, until I fell out of the sky onto the conveniently placed Moby Dick. And the rest is, as they say, history."

The two men sat thinking about my tale. Kepi shifted nervously at the tension.

"Hmm, you have given me a lot to think about." Whitebeard finally broke the silence leaning back in his chair contemplatively. Kepi looked up at him, her figure hunched, waiting for his damning judgment. Instead he just reached down and gently ruffled her hair with a giant finger.

"Your past doesn't matter when you join my crew. You may be a Tenryuubito, but you could have easily been a slave, a criminal, a saint, or something else entirely but once you join you are family. That's all that really matters." Kepi blinked her eyes rapidly brushing her hands across her eyes. She had said what she was, and she still had been accepted by him.

"T-thanks, Pops." Kepi stuttered out, trying to put as much of her feelings into those words as she could. He seemed to understand because he nodded and smiled. That only left one person. Turning she looked over at the war hero. Only to be startled to see he was picking his nose with a vacant expression on his face.

"Um. Garp, what are you going to do now?" Her question broke him off from whatever convoluted path his mind had taken and brought it back to the present.

"Bwahaha. It's not really my decision. You're your own person, though as a Marine I think you shouldn't be a pirate, but the Whitebeards aren't so bad, at least not for a pirate crew. But I got to warn you that the Marines know that you're here, and if I don't 'rescue' you then Whitebeard will have to fend off the fall out." Garp barked out.

Kepi contemplated her options for a moment before coming to a decision. Turning she faced Whitebeard and attempted to smile, knowing that she failed.

"I have been meaning to bring this up for a while but just haven't found the… time. I have been thinking about leaving, since my goal is to end slavery. I originally thought that if I destroyed enough of the slave houses, then the rest would follow, since, like a plant, if you strip the leaves away the whole dies. But I was thinking to shallowly, I imagined this like a normal flower when I should have been thinking of it as if it were a weed where even if the leaves and stalk and stem are gone the plant will simply regrow. I need to rip the very roots from this, and the only way to do that, I need to be at the top. I thank you for everything that you have done for me." She bowed deeply to the man who had saved her, and gave her reason to continue on with her dream. This crew, they were family now and she never wanted to see her family in chains. She would protect them in her own way. Turning, she looked at Garp.

"Will you report this?"

"Bwahaha, I didn't hear anything." Garp said standing up. She couldn't tell if he was just saying that or if it was in fact true.

"It's time we left." Nodding to Whitebeard, Garp strode from the room. Kepi turned once again to Whitebeard.

"Is it alright on occasion to send you letters? I'll be sure to be discreet."

"Gurarara, of course. The family would be delighted to get letters from you. If you ever need anything from us, all you have to do is ask."

"Right." Pausing again she seemed to realize something, "How am I going to tell the guys what I am? I can't just leave with the Marines and not say anything! What are they going to say." She looked pleadingly at Whitebeard.

"Talk to those you are closest to, they will spread the word." Nodding slowly she walked to the door and went to go find the three brothers she was closest to.

* * *

_Mess Hall…_

Finding the three commanders wasn't all that hard, she simply followed the smell of food, because where there was food there were at least two of her brothers. The third was usually dragged along for the ride to make sure that he didn't "overwork," though it was more like they wanted to mess with him. Kepi marched smartly into the mess pausing in the doorway to find them. Spotting the telltale orange hat, she waded her way through the crowd, stumbling into Marco as she went.

"Hello Kepi, did you find Pops?" He looked down at her speaking in a slightly louder voice so that he could be heard over the din from the crowded room.

"Yeah… can I talk to you?" Marco blinked slowly a second before nodding his assent.

"Good, I just need to grab Ace and Thatch and I'll meet you in my room."

"I'll follow you, Ace and Thatch are… entertaining… our guests." Swiveling her head she looked over to where Ace was sitting. She noticed a head of pink hair that she had never seen before. Pushing past a pair of squabbling crewmates she steadily made the rest of the way to Ace.

"… and then we had to kill the alligator because it had _eaten _Luffy, and we were really hungry too, so we beat it up and roasted it over the fire."

"Ah, I can't really picture Luffy-san as being weak. I know by New World standards he isn't the strongest, but he definitely isn't weak, er sorry." Ace, and Thatch who Kepi just noticed sitting next to the boy, simply laughed.

"There you go, apologizing again! Be more sure of yourself, there must be something special about you if the shitty gramps is teaching you."

"I don't know about that." The poor kid rubbed the back of his head. Feeling a nudge at my side I turned to see Marco, who tilted his head towards Ace and Thatch. Right, I was stalling. Clearing my throat I looked at the two commanders. Four pairs of eyes turned and looked at me, Ace and Thatch smiling when they saw who it was.

"Heya Kepi, how's it going?"

"Ah, it is going good, thank you. Could I speak to you two for a moment?" They looked at her. She blew a raspberry in frustration at their thick-headedness.

"I believe Kepi means alone." Marco cut in, giving the two a meaningful look. Nodding quickly, Ace shoved the rest of his food in his mouth, barely swallowing before standing. He bowed politely to the two kids, who were in marine uniforms.

"Banks bo tollin' me abo' my brotho' I'm gla he okay!" Ace spoke with his mouthful. Turning he slung an arm around Kepi's shoulder leading her away, through the thinning crowd. Kepi heard Thatch say something else to the kids before Ace began talking to her.

"Where to?"

"Ah, my room."

"Alrighty then!" They chatted briefly as they made their way through the ship. If they noticed how nervous she was, they didn't show it. When they reached the door, Kepi paused in front of it staring at it for a second. This room, while being the smallest room she had ever slept in, was home to her, and she was going to have to leave. Sighing, she pushed open the door.

"Come on in." And so they did, making themselves comfortable. Kepi began to pace around the room, trying to think of a way to begin. Looking over her shoulder the three commanders communicated with their eyes.

"You know, when I have something to get off my chest, I usually just blurt it out. It's kind of like ripping off a band aid." Blinking, Kepi looked up at them for a second. She opened her mouth and closed it, before visibly screwing up her courage.

"I am a Tenryuubito." The three commanders blinked, looking at her. She stood on the opposite end of the small room from them, her shoulders back in a defensive position, head held high, daring them to judge her. Slowly Thatch smiled, then he beamed. Turning to Marco, who was leaning against the wall near the door, Thatch laughed.

"Pay up, sucker! I was so right!" Marco frowned at him before fishing around in his sash and coming up with a few bills. Kepi stared at them confused. Turning to her, Thatch waved the bills he just received.

"I _thought _you were one, I just couldn't prove it, so I made a bet with Marco. I won, obviously." Now she was openly gaping at him. Slowly she looked at Marco who nodded.

"Doesn't matter. Like I said before - you're family, and family comes before everything else." Kepi blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to will away the tears. Turning slowly, she looked at Ace, who was staring very intently at her.

"I'm not going to lie - I really don't like the Tenryuubito," Kepi flinched, "but your family, and that makes you better. Don't worry so much. You're trying to change them, aren't you?" She blinked looking at him, before nodding slowly.

"How did you know?"

"Well, I _might _ have gone through your things once, and saw a mask, or something. Plus it wasn't _that _hard to figure out. How many lightning type devil fruits are out there?" He smiled brightly up at her from where he was lounging on the bed.

"Right."

"So you told us this because…? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you did, but it kinda' came out of nowhere." Thatch spoke again, pocketing his belli.

"I am leaving." That got their attention. All three of their gazes sharpened causing her to shift uncomfortably in her corner of the room.

"Why? You're family, you can't just _leave!" _Thatch exclaimed, voice raised in agitation.

"Yeah, who am I going to get that has the figurative balls to prank Marco!" Ace spoke asked, ignoring the glare he received from the aforementioned commander.

"I'm sorry guys. I have to go do this because it is my dream. If it would help any, you may think of it as a mission that Pops is sending me on. Like the one you have coming up, right Thatch? Only mine will be a little longer, it might take a few years. But once I have achieved my dream, I'll come sail with you guys again, okay?! And it's not like I won't be talking to you ever again, I'll send letters, and maybe on occasion I'll be able to call, and maybe… I.. could…" Kepi trailed off sniffing, rubbing her arm over her eyes.

"Right. It isn't forever, we'll see each other again. Besides, what kind of family would we be if we took away your chance of achieving your dream?" Marco spoke up into the silence following Kepi's tearful speech. Nodding he pushed himself off the wall and walked over to her. Reaching out, he pulled her into a hug, gently ruffling her hair.

"Come back sometime, and we'll go flying together again, alright?" Kepi nodded into his shoulder. Marco pulled away and Thatch pulled her into a hug.

"Just remember, you've got to eat your veggies, _all _of them! We won't be there to make sure you do, so you'll have to look after yourself on that part, okay?" Thatch's voice wavered a little before he pulled back. Ace quickly took his place, throwing one arm over her shoulder, only giving her a fond look, no words needed.

"You're going with gramps ain't cha?" Kepi nodded at his sudden question. "Well, he left about ten minutes ago, so you might want to hurry so you can catch up." Kepi blinked up at him, before squeaking and rushing over to her bag, pushing some of her wayward items into it.

"He left! I can't believe he left!" She called out. It took her under five minutes to pack everything. Standing over her bag she took a deep breath and let it out before turning to the three commanders she had shoved out the door so she could pack. Pulling her bag on she adjusted the straps a second before looking them in the eye.

"Will you let everyone else know? I… I don't just want to leave, but I need to go, so could you?"

"Of course."

"Sure thing."

"They'll understand." Came their replies. Nodding she pushed past them out the door heading for the deck.

"I'm just going to say buy to Pops, then I'll head out." Without looking back, she walked with her head held high.

* * *

_Up on deck…_

"Hey Pops." Kepi spoke softly as she stood in front of the giant man. He looked down at her over the rim of his sake bowl. Seeing it, she scowled.

"Didn't the nurses say that you are not supposed to have so much sake?"

"Ah, you must be one of my children." He said, chuckling at her inquiry.

"I pity Marco." Came her reply.

"So you're heading out?" She nodded. Whitebeard reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

"This is a vivre card for one of the sailors on Garp's marine vessel. You know how to follow it right?" She nodded again, gently taking the paper and placing it in the palm of her hand, watching as it tugged towards the open sea. Closing her fist around it, she shoved it into her pocket. Looking up at him, she paused for a second before coming to a decision. She raised her arms up at him. He stared down at her in slight confusion, before understanding dawned in his eyes. Chuckling softly he reached down and picked her up, causing the nearby crew members to pause in what they were doing and stare.

"Thank you, thank you for catching me." She whispered softly, wrapping her arms as far around his neck as possible.

"Ah, it was no trouble, couldn't let a storm destroy itself." She smiled slightly. Pulling back from the hug, Whitebeard gently set her on the deck. She walked over to the side of the ship, where by now a large portion of the crew had gathered looking confused, but knowing she was doing something important.

"Just watch everyone! I'll be a storm that will change this world!" She laughed, looking at their confused faces, before taking a running leap, changing forms as she went. She flew fast away from the ship, hearing their cheers taper off as she flew out of range. She wanted to achieve her dream so she could get back to her family. She couldn't wait to see them again.

* * *

Alright, Alright, I know all of you are ready to kill me, I know I haven't updated in so long, but life has been catching up with me and I've been stuck in another fandom for a while (ff7, whoot!) I also know this ending is kind of sudden, but I was going to have it be that way from the beginning. In and out like a storm and all that.

_There will be a epilogue! _So don't worry on that front. It has been an amazing experience writing for you guys, and I always enjoy receiving feedback, so be sure to review.

Also check out my short fic Ace wants you to know, I've been told it's good and full of feels, so yay.

Idk if I'm going to write another One Piece fanfic, I know I'm not going to right away so don't get your hopes up too high on that front, but I might try another fandom (and yes, it'll probably be ff7) But I really hope you enjoyed this. Lots of love

\- Dragonfire1237


	11. The Storm that Writes

"Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be...Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before."

\- Erich Fromm quotes

* * *

**The Storm that Writes**

Dear Pops,

Hello I'm just writing to let you know that I arrived safely back at Mariejois. Everyone was _so _happy to see me, there was much swearing against pirates and other lesser human filth (home sweet home). Let the bird know if you want to respond or not, he will wait.

Love, Kepi

P.S. The bird I sent this message with is loyal only to me and doesn't like to touched. His breed is especially proud and vicious. Don't touch, that means you Thatch!

Dear Kepi,

What's up! We're all glad to hear that you arrived safely at your destination. Keep yourself safe. Thatch left on his mission so he didn't get to write anything, but everyone else enclosed their own letter. Let us know if you need anything!

Love, Pops (and siblings)

P.S. Thatch totally got bit - Ace

Dear Man of Mountains,

How are things going over there? I've gotten started on my own "project." My husband had an unfortunate accident the day of our wedding and though we weren't married for too long, I as his wife, have decided to honor him as he would have wanted to be remembered - by taking all of his assets. I've recently bought an island in the section of the New World controlled by one scoundrel, Whitebeard, and have heard that there are those who go there to recover from both mental and physical ills. My parents believe that the island is poor financing - like they know what that word even means. I'm making progress! Love you all, send my regards to everyone. There letters really help when I'm feeling lonely.

Lonely at the Top, Storm Rider

P.S. Why do you _think _I warned him specifically? He got what he deserved.

P.S.S. We need to start using code names so that people don't start to get suspicious.

Dear Storm on the Sea,

We're all doing well. We took an island from Kaido a few days ago and we're all still reaping the rewards. We're happy to hear that you've been getting along well - pity about your husband though, he sounded like he was a wonderful person. I think I hear Thatch - he's finally back from his mission, I'll be sure that he writes you something before he goes to sleep tonight. I've enclosed everyone's personal letters to you, at this rate I don't know if your bird will be able to take off. Ah, Thatch just tried to pet him again.

Waiting at sea

Big Dreamer,

Things have been tense up here, people (the elders) are being more obtuse than normal, which is somewhat difficult to do. Something big is going to happen soon. Be careful.

Lots of Love

P. S. I never received Thatch's letter, did he forget to send it?

Mountain Man,

Hey it's been a couple of months and I haven't gotten a reply, did something happen? I sent another bird and a copy of my last letter.

Miss You

Guys? I haven't heard anything in a month. Please just let me know if your okay? Please?

I just read the news…. What happened? What can I do to help, don't cut me out please. If it's resources or anything I can help. Hell, if you need me to fight I will. Just let me know!

Kepi,

Sorry for not replying sooner, we've been busy preparing. Could you send blueprints of the marine headquarters to us? That's all we need.

Are you sure that's all? I had the eagle bring you all I could find. The government has been retrofitting it with something from before the news went out. Be careful, I'm here if you need _anything. _Let me know alright?

I… heard the news, Marco. I do not even know if this message will be received or not. I… doooooooo not evvvvvvven know how to write this letter. I bought an Islandddddd somewwwwwhere in you territory. It's a spring Island where the flowers bloom most of the year. If you have not yet found a place to lay them to reeeeeest than I think they would have liked that Island. I will understand if you do not want to though.

Love you all

Kepi,

It's been a trying few months and We've been keeping your bird waiting for most of it. I know that we didn't communicate very well to you, for that I'm so very sorry. Pop's, Ace, Thatch, and so many more of our family are dead, but we still have many, many able bodied people still alive. We'll keep on sailing, because that's what Pop's wants us to do, and because we can't deny the call of the ocean. Even though Pop's said he would be there to see you fulfill your dream, would it be alright if I filled in in his stead? I know I'm a poor second, but I still want to see you achieve your dream. Let us know, be safe.

Feather Head

P.S. Everyone thanks you for the island, it was perfect

P.S.S. I know it's a little ragged and a little bloody, but here is your letter from Thatch.

* * *

Annnnnnnnnndddddd, that's all folks! I've finally finished a fanfiction! I might, if given enough reviews, even write the letter that Thatch wrote to Kepi. Also the weird big-small-big lettering is _supposed _to represent tears, but hey nobody's perfect.

Its been fun guys! I really enjoyed writing this and seeing what reactions I would get. I don't know if I'm writing another One Piece fic, at least not for a while. I think I'm going to try my hand at something else. Also check out my other fic Ace Wants You to Know. It's a tear jerker.

:D


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